Full text of "Dragon Magazine"

See other formats

PLAYER’S HANDBOOK 3 DEBUT: THE ARDENT

Get an exclusive look at another new class from Player’s Handbook® 3. This
month, the ardent!

SWORDMAGE ESSENTIALS

By Andy Collins

Learn the secrets to building and playing the swordmage, arcane defender.

FAMILIAR POWER: WIZARDS

By Arthur Wright

Familiars are more than just shoulder dressing for your wizard. These new
powers feature kickers that activate if you have a familiar.

ASSASSIN’S TOY CHEST

By Mike Mearls

More goodies for your assassin, including more feats and ki foci!

AVENGER ESSENTIALS

By Rodney Thompson

Learn the basics to building a complete avenger, divine tool of justice of the
gods.

CLASS ACTS: AVENGERS

By Rodney Thompson

More toys for avengers, featuring a slew of new power options.

CLASS ACTS: FIGHTER

By Stephen Radney-MacFarland

Learn the secrets of the School of Twenty Blades.

CLASS ACTS: WARLOCK

By Robert J. Schwalb

The Blasphemous Libram is capable of great evil-and granting great power.

CLASS ACTS: DRUID

By Aidyn Newman

New options for the shifting druid in all of us.

CLASS ACTS: INVOKER

By Robert J. Schwalb

New options for those invokers who awaken their inner god fragment.

POWER PLAY: ARCANE POWER

By Stephen Radney-MacFarland

All arcanists seek more power, but the followers of the Gloaming Path seek it
in the place some say arcane power was born: the Feywild.

POWER PLAY: PRIMAL POWER

By Tavis Allison

Those who learn the secrets of primal mapping can find their way more
easily in the world.

WINNING RACES: DROW

By Bruce R. Cordell

The drow are known for their treachery and viciousness, but some learn to tap
these innate callings to serve a higher cause.

WINNING RACES: ELVES

By Robert. J. Schwalb

Twilight elves are Sehanine’s chosen, and they have gained some of the
patron’s mystery, and much of her power.

CHANNEL DIVINITY: THE TRAVELER

By Chris Sims

Those who are devoted to misdirection and stealth often find the Traveler’s
ways suit their own.

SOLO ADVENTURE

By Chris Sims

A D&D 4th Edition solo play adventure for one lst-level character. Rescue
your adventuring party and help the goblin Splug at the same time!

KNOW YOUR ROLE: CONTROLLER

By Robert J. Schwalb

New feats and tips to give your controller more oomph.

102

GUILDS & GROUPS: MOON CATCHERS

By Bruce R. Cordell

The followers of Iltani the Blue seek to return her to the sky and guard the
world against a great catastrophe.

4 EDITORIAL

1 06 CONFESSIONS OF A FULL TIME WIZARD

By Shelly Mazzanohle

D&D’s “Player-in-Chief” shares more of her
wisdom and insight.

Ill RPGA REPORT

By Chris Tulach

The Living FR campaign is in full swing. Learn
more about how to get involved!

115 AMPERSAND

By Bill Slavicsek

Bill discusses more of the changes in store for
D&D in 2010.

ON THE COVER

Illustration by Steve Prescott

EDITORIAL

-^ 382 ;-

DRAGON x ' December 2 009

Editor-in-Chief

Chris Youngs

Senior Art Director

Jon Schindehette

Web Specialist
Web Production
Graphic Design
Contributing Authors

Cover Artist
Contributing Artists

Web Development
D&D Creative Manager

Executive Producer,
D&D Insider

Director of RPG R&D

Chris Sims

Bart Carroll, Steve Winter
Keven Smith, Yasuyo Dunnett

Tavis Allison, Andy Collins, Bruce
R. Cordell, Shelly Mazzanoble,
Mike Mearls, Matthew Newman,
Stephen Radney-MacFarland,
Robert J. Schwalb, Chris Sims,

Bill Slavicsek, Rodney Thompson,
Chris Tulach, Arthur Wright

Stephen Radney-MacFarland,
Peter Schaefer, Stephen Schubert,
Chris Sims, Rodney Thompson

Michele Carter, Jeremy Crawford,
Miranda Horner

Steve Prescott

Alex Aparin, Eric Belisle, Wayne
England, Tyler Jacobson, McLean
Kendree, Jorge Lacera, Patrick
McEvoy, William O’Connor,

David Rapoza, Evan Shipard,

Eric L. Williams

Mark A.Jindra
Christopher Perkins

Chris Champagne
Bill Slavicsek

Special Thanks

Richard Baker, Greg Bilsland, Logan Bonner, Michele Carter,
Jennifer Clarke Wilkes, Andy Collins, Bruce R. Cordell, Torah Cottrill,
Jeremy Crawford, Mike Donais, Rob Heinsoo, Nina Hess, Peter Lee,
Mike Mearls, Kim Mohan, Cal Moore, Stephen Radney-MacFarland,
Peter Schaefer, Stephen Schubert, Matthew Sernett,

Rodney Thompson, Rob Watkins, James Wyatt

Career Change

(Or, Your Character Sheet as Resume)

Those of you following Confessions of a Full-Time Wizard
(and if you don’t, you really should), are likely aware
of the friendly debate waging between the author and
myself-which, in no small part, involves honor, trust,
betrayal, life, death, and the career choice of one slight,
black-feathered fellow named Holden Cawfield.

While Holden may be crow-like in appearance (he

is, you see, a kenku), his actions are more cuckoo-like
in nature. The cuckoo hides its eggs in another bird’s
nest to be raised unwittingly. And this is how Shelly
viewed Holden. He presented himself as one thing only
to become another-not for his party’s interests, but
entirely for his own.

A little backstory to this debate: Shelly and I play in
the same Scales of War campaign. A few months back,
Holden auditioned for an open spot at the table, won

it, and promptly joined the Wyld Stallions’ as a much-
needed cleric.

Then Dragon published the assassin class. Holden
simply couldn’t resist.

I won’t go into the intrinsic coolness of the assassin
class, how I’ve played one since 1st Edition, or how well
I feel its mechanics work in 4th Edition (though I am
campaigning for a ranged assassin/sniper build). I’ll
only say that once the assassin appeared, I lobbied to
change Holden’s class, and our DM agreed.

Shelly cried fowl (last bird reference, I promise).
Holden had been hired as a cleric, and-she felt-should
remain one.

My defense, and the point of this editorial, goes as
follows: There are, quite thankfully, a wealth of classes
in this game, and a typical campaign involves sessions
spanning months, if not years, of play. Many players are
satisfied to run their character as originally designed for
the entire length of the campaign. To them, adventur¬
ing parties resemble the Fellowship of the Ring; it just
wouldn’t fit for Gimli to put down his axe or Legolas his
bow and start learning to cast spells under Gandalf’s
tutelage. On the other hand, some players like the
opportunity to sample classes. They are experimenters,

dabblers, the cobblers of mechanics. Without forcing
their character’s death or retirement, it makes sense
that they be allowed to change careers mid-campaign.
There’s no judgment being cast here on either style: you
should play your character however you see fit, which is
the heart of my argument.

Career changes happen, at the best of times, for the
advancement of the character in question. Bilbo Baggins
started out as a middle-aged homeowner, became a bur¬
glar, then later a traveling historian. Aragorn started as a
ranger of ill-repute, only to become a field marshal, and
finally king. Look at Cattie-Brie, who literally did lay
down her bow to learn spellcasting. In fact, consider vir¬
tually anyone you know in the real world. I have myself
worked at amusement parks, as an overnight hotel valet,
delivered phone books, operated as a CIA hit man,
taught English, and edited technical manuals along the
course of my career.

All that said, I would not advocate career changes
often or thoughtlessly. You should ask your DM’s advice
and permission-and you should consult your fellow
players, to make sure they don’t feel an important role
is being vacated to the party’s detriment. In Holden’s
case, this meant multi-classing as a cleric (of the Raven
Queen, of course) and purchasing magic items to further
help with healing, to soften the blow of my decision.

We often talk that the job of the DM is to make sure
everyone around the table is having fun. To a large
extent, the same holds true for you as the player—your
job is to make sure that you’re also having fun, and so
contribute to the group’s overall enjoyment of the game.
At the most basic level, your fun begins with the char¬
acter you’re playing; if that character is interested in
changing careers, that option should be on the table.

Just take our recent playtesting of OP’s Lair Assault
adventure. Afterward, Shelly herself considered a career
change for her character-from Tabitha the wizard to
Tabitha the barbarian.

The defense rests.

Ardent

By Robert J. Schwab

Commentary by James Wyatt
and Peter Schaefer

illustrations by Chris Seaman

“The fate of the world rests on
the fire of your passions.”

CLASS TRAITS
Role: Leader. You fill your allies with the will to fight
and the clarity of purpose needed for victory. When
you attack, you loose thoughts that intensify emotions
and lay bare truths. Depending on your choice of class
features, you lean toward either defender or striker as
a secondary role.

Power Source: Psionic. You are a spiritual warrior
whose thoughts swirl about you to infect your enemies
with doubt and fill your allies with confidence.

Key Abilities: Charisma, Constitution, Wisdom
Armor Proficiencies: Cloth, leather, hide, chainmail
Weapon Proficiencies: Simple melee, military melee,
mple ranged
Bonus to Defense: +1 Fortitude, +1 Will

Hit Points at 1st Level: 12 + Constitution score

Hit Points per Level Gained: 5

Healing Surges per Day: 7 + Constitution modifier

Trained Skills: From the class skills list below, choose
four trained skills at 1st level.

Class Skills: Arcana (Int), Athletics (Str), Bluff (Cha),
Diplomacy (Cha), Endurance (Con), Heal (Wis), Insight
(Wis), Intimidate (Cha), Streetwise (Cha)

COMMENTARY

/ James Wyatt: The ardent is the psionic warlord.
While the warlord shouts encouragement, inspira-
n, and commands to his allies, the ardent taps
directly into his allies’ minds to achieve similar
results. I like the ardent as a passionate, tempestuous
foil to the psion’s calm rationality.

COMMENTARY
Peter Schaefer: Just like the psion’s design made
it clear that it should be an Intelligence class, the
ardent’s method of projecting and wielding emotions
make Charisma the perfect choice.

JW: When we designed the kalashtar race in the
Eberron Player’s Guide, bonuses to Wisdom and
Charisma seemed like a really good fit. I remember
somebody saying, “But that doesn’t make them good
psions.” And I said, “They’ll be good at some psionic
class, I’m sure.” And here’s that class.

Class Features: Ardent Mantle, ardent surge, Psionic
Augmentation

i Coast LLC. All

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Player's Handbook 3 Debut: Ardent

Those who let their base emotions rule them invite
madness and destruction. Prolonged feelings of fear,
greed, lust, or hatred can weaken the mind’s defenses
against manipulation. Wielding psionic power, you
excite such emotions in your enemies, creating gaps
in their defenses and frustrating their attacks, all
while filling your allies with encouraging thoughts
and guarding them against despair and other nega¬
tive emotions.

Ardents rarely learn their art through formal
training. In many ways, they are incidental leaders,
having stumbled onto psionic power at some point
earlier in their lives. How you discovered your psionic
talent can shape how you wield this power now.

You might have awakened to your talent in the heat
of battle, experiencing a mental breakthrough that
allowed you to augment your attacks by rending your
enemies’ minds. Or your friends might reflect your
power when your mood bleeds into theirs, altering
their emotional states to match your own. Regardless
of the revelation, you learned to harness this power to
support your fighting prowess and to guide your allies
to victory.

COMMENTARY

PS: Originally, each mantle (of which one debuts
here) shared the same power. That power was more
offensive than ardent alacrity and lit well with the
other build, hut seemed out of place for this more
defensive build. That led to the addition of ardent alac¬
rity and tying each to a different mantle

Ardent Class Features

Ardents have the following class features.

Ardent Mantle

COMMENTARY

J W: The name of the class and some of the termi¬
nology within it-such as mantles-come from a 3rd
edition class that appeared in Complete Psionic. That’s
about where the similarity ends, though.

A person’s state of mind can be armor against the
decay and madness born from base emotions, and
thus ardents gird themselves by donning particular
mindsets to ward off the perils brought on by fear,
despair, and hatred. Various emotional states, called
mantles, can safeguard the mind. Ardents most com¬
monly use the mantles of clarity and elation.

One Ardent Mantle option is presented here. It
gives a power to you as well as a benefit to you and
your allies.

Mantle of Clarity: You and each ally within 5
squares of you gain a bonus to all defenses against
opportunity attacks. The bonus equals your Wisdom
modifier. In addition, each ally within 5 squares of
you gains a +2 bonus to Insight checks and Perception
checks. (If a character is in the radius of more than
one Mantle of Clarity, the bonuses are not cumula¬
tive. Only the highest ones apply to him or her.)

You also gain the ardent alacrity power.

Ardent Surge

You gain the ardent surge power. Your advanced emo¬
tional state is inspirational, motivating your allies and
helping them to recover from injuries.

Psionic Augmentation

COMMENTARY

JW: Like the psion and unlike the monk, the ardent
makes use of psionic augmentation to make at-will
powers stand in for encounter attack powers.

Through discipline and careful study, you have
mastered a form of psionic magic that offers greater
versatility than other characters command. You know
a broad array of at-will powers, each of which is a con¬
duit through which you can pour as much or as little
psionic energy as you choose. You channel psionic
energy into a reservoir of personal power-repre¬
sented in the game as power points-that you can use
to augment your at-will attack powers, replacing the
encounter attack powers that other characters use.

As an ardent, you acquire and use powers in a slightly
different manner from how most other classes do.

At-Will Attack Powers: At 1st level, you choose
two at-will attack powers and one daily attack power
from your class, but you don’t start with any encoun¬
ter attack powers from your class. You can instead
augment your ardent at-will attack powers using
power points. These powers (and certain others,
notably the encounter attack power you gain from an
ardent paragon path) have the augmentable keyword
(see the sidebar).

You gain new ardent at-will attack powers, instead
of new encounter attack powers, as you increase in
level. At 3rd level, you choose a new ardent at-will
attack power. At 7th, 13th, 17th, 23rd, and 27th level,
you can replace one of your augmentable ardent at-
will attack powers with another one of your level or
lower. The power you replace must be augmentable.

Power Points: You start with 2 power points. You
gain 2 additional power points at 3rd and 7th level, 1
additional power point at 13th level, and 2 additional

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Player's Handbook 3 Debut: Ardent

power points at 17th, 21st, 23rd, and 27th level. If
you gain power points from another source (such as
your paragon path), add them to your power point
total. You can use your power points to augment any
augmentable power you have, regardless of how you
gained the power.

You regain all your power points when you take a
short or an extended rest.

3 Choose one Gain 2 (4 total)

7 Replace one Gain 2 (6 total)

13 Replace one Gain 1 (7 total)

17 Replace one Gain 2 (9 total)

21 - Gain 2 (11 total)

23 Replace one Gain 2 (13 total)

27 Replace one Gain 2 (15 total)

COMMENTARY

PS: When it comes to designing and developing psionic
powers, the minor augment (Augment 1 in heroic
and paragon tiers, Augment 2 in epic tier) are often a
challenge. The goal is to create an augment that is con¬
ditionally as good as the full augment but isn’t always
desirable or worth the cost. It’s a hard line to walk.

A power that has the augmentable keyword has
optional augmentations, which you can use at the
cost of power points. You use these rules when you
use an augmentable power.

Decide First: You must decide whether and
how to augment an augmentable power when
you choose to use the power, before you make any
attack rolls or apply any of the power’s effects.

Power Point Cost: An augmentation specifies
its cost in power points. For example, “Augment
1” means you must spend 1 power point to use an
augmentation. You must spend the required power
points when you decide to use the augmentation.

One at a Time: You can use only one augmenta¬
tion on a power at a time, so you can’t, for example,
spend 3 power points to use both a 1-point and a
2-point augmentation on a single power.

Replace Base Effects: When you augment a
power, changes to the power are noted in the aug¬
mentation. If an augmentation includes a specific

power entry, like “Hit” or “Effect,” that entry
replaces the entry in the base power that has the
same name. An augmented version of a power is
otherwise identical to the base power.

Unaugmented: When you use an augmentable
power without augmenting it, the power is
referred to as unaugmented for that use (some
effects apply only when a power is unaugmented).
A power that doesn’t have the augmentable key¬
word is never considered unaugmented.

At-Will Attack Powers: When a power or
some other effect lets you use an at-will attack
power, you can choose to use one of your aug¬
mentable at-will attack powers, but you must use
it unaugmented.

When a racial trait grants you an at-will
attack power of your choice and you choose an
augmentable at-will attack power, the power
loses both the augmentable keyword and its
augmentations.

LevelAt-Will Attack Powei

Power Points

COMMENTARY

J W: This sidebar Is slightly updated compared to the
version that appeared In the Psion debut, and replaces
that text. This definition includes a few clarifications,

' and it changes how augmentable powers interact with
things like the human’s Bonus At-Will Power trait.

THE AUGMENTABLE KEYWORD

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

\( 7 )

Player's Handbook 3 Debut: Ardent

Creating an Ardent

Ardents depend on Charisma more than other
abilities. Constitution is important for powers that
improve your allies’ attacks, and Wisdom is impor¬
tant if you want to foil your enemies’ attacks. You can
choose any powers you like, though many ardents
favor one of the two builds described here.

Enlightened Ardent

You read your enemies’ weaknesses and reveal
them to your allies, and your keen insight helps your
allies overcome damaging effects. Make Charisma
your highest ability score. You should also consider
investing in Wisdom to take advantage of powers
that confuse your enemies. Your secondary role is
defender, and your leadership helps protect allies
from harm.

Suggested Class Feature: Mantle of Clarity
Suggested Feat: Bolstering Mantle
Suggested Skills: Bluff, Diplomacy, Heal, Insight
Suggested At-Will Powers -.focusing strike, psionic
shield

Suggested Daily Power: wormhole plunge

Ardent Powers

When you use your ardent disciplines, you trans- ._

mit your thoughts and emotions to those around
you. These sensations bleed into nearby creatures,
either filling them with despair and pain or hope
and vigor. Your powers are accompanied by visual
signs, contained in a sudden corona of light that
swirls out from your head and flares around you. The
light’s color reflects your mood, with brilliant scarlet
flashes representing anger; green, health and vigor;
black, fear and death; and so on. When you augment
your powers by spending power points, the corona
intensifies.

ARDENT OVERVIEW

Characteristics: You lead your group from
the front lines, mixing strong melee attacks with
equally strong mental assaults. Your strikes can
dismantle your enemies’ defenses and make
them more vulnerable to your allies’ attacks.
In addition, you can provoke allies to perform
daring stunts and maneuvers, helping them
gain better positions, leap across the battlefield
to close with distant foes, or shrug off deadly
afflictions.

Religion: Ardents gravitate toward wild and
unpredictable gods, favoring those who repre¬
sent war or wilderness. Kord and Melora are the
most popular, with more independent ardents
following Avandra. Evil ardents find much to like
in Bane and Gruumsh.

Races: Humans, half-elves, and kalashtar are
the most common ardents, though dragonborn,
halflings, gnomes, and tieflings also excel in this
class, having the natural charisma needed to
focus their inner strength.

COMMENTARY

JW: Manipulating emotions is definitely a two-edged
sword. Ardents inspire and invigorate their allies and
crush their enemies under the heels of despair, dread,
and hopelessness.

Class Eeatures

You have the powers ardent surge and ardent alacrity.

Ardent Alacrity Ardent Feature

As you take a hit, your emotional energy inspires your allies.

Encounter ♦ Psionic
No Action Close burst 5
Trigger: You are bloodied by an attack
Target: Each ally in burst

Effect: Each target can use a free action either to shift 1 square
or to move half his or her speed.

COMMENTARY

JW: I imagine a powerful psychic scream formed of
the ardent’s pain galvanizing nearby allies to action.

You send a surge of powerful emotion that revives a faltering
ally.

Encounter (Special) ♦ Healing, Psionic
Minor Action Close burst 5 (10 at 16th level)

Target: You or one ally

Effect: The target can spend a healing surge and regain 1 d6
additional hit points.

Level 6: 2d6 additional hit points.

Level 11: 3d6 additional hit points.

Level 16: 4d6 additional hit points.

Level 21: 5d6 additional hit points.

Level 26: 6d6 additional hit points.

Mantle of Clarity: The target gains a +1 bonus to all defenses
until the end of your next turn.

Mantle of Elation: The target gains a +1 bonus to attack rolls
until the end of your next turn.

Special: You can use this power twice per encounter, but only
once per round. At 16th level, you can use this power three
times per encounter, but only once per round.
COMMENTARY

PS: The mantle of clarity’s defensive nature also shows
up in its healing power, which I think is a first.

J W: The mantle of elation is the other option for the
Ardent Mantle class feature, which you’ll see in detail
in March!

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Player's Handbook 3 Debut: Ardent

Level 1 At-Will Disciplines

Energizing Strike Ardent Attack 1

The energy and emotion you put into your attack flows into
your ally.

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and one ally within 5
squares of you gains temporary hit points equal to one-half
your level + your Charisma modifier.

Augment 1 (Healing)

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and one dying ally
within 5 squares of you regains hit points equal to your
Charisma modifier.

Augment 2 (Healing)

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and you or one ally
within S squares of you can spend a healing surge.

Focusing Strike Ardent Attack 1

You attack your foe with calm and clarity of mind, extending
that clarity to give a nearby ally a chance to clear a lingering
effect.

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and you or one ally
within 5 squares of you can make a saving throw.
Augment 1

Hit: As above, and if the saving throw is against a charm or
a fear effect, it gains a power bonus equal to your Wisdom
modifier.

Augment 2

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and you and each
ally within 5 squares of you can make a saving throw.

Psionic Shield Ardent Attack 1

As you strike your foe, you motivate a nearby ally with a calm
determination to defend himself or herself.

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and one ally within 5
squares of you gains a +1 power bonus to all defenses until
the end of your next turn.

Augment 1

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and one ally within
5 squares of you gains a power bonus to Will equal to your
Wisdom modifier until the end of your next turn.

Augment 2

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and each ally within
5 squares of you gains a +2 power bonus to all defenses
until the end of your next turn.

Wormhole Plunge Ardent Attack 1

Your foe falls through a hole in space and appears some dis¬
tance away from you.

Daily ♦ Psionic, Teleportation, Weapon, Zone

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage.

Miss: Half damage.

Effect: You teleport the target a number of squares equal to
your Wisdom modifier, and then one ally adjacent to the
target can make a melee basic attack against it as a free

The attack creates a zone in the space that the target vacated.
The zone lasts until the end of your next turn. Any creature
that starts its turn within 3 squares of the zone is pulled 1
square toward it or into it. As a free action, you can teleport
a creature within the zone 3 squares.

Level 1 Daily Disciplines

Level 2 Utility Disciplines

Implanted Suggestion Ardent Attack 1

You compel your enemy to open itself to attack.

Daily ♦ Charm, Psionic, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Attack: Charisma vs. Will

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and the target is dazed
(save ends).

Miss: Half damage.

Effect: The target is affected by your suggestion (save ends).
Until the suggestion ends, whenever the target makes an
attack, one ally adjacent to the target can make a melee
basic attack against it as a free action after the target’s at¬
tack is resolved.

You fold the space between yourself and an ally so that you can
switch positions.

Encounter ♦ Psionic, Teleportation
Move Action Close burst 5

Target: One ally in burst

Effect: You teleport yourself and the target, swapping positions.
COMMENTARY

JW: My paladin really enjoyed using benign transposi¬
tion for a while, but I’d sometimes catching myself
teleporting just because I could, when what I really
wanted was to make the attached 2[W] attack. I think
having that ability in a standalone utility power is a lot
more flexible-and also feels very psionic.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

\R)

Player's Handbook 3 Debut: Ardent

ESSES!

You convince a
as bad as they:

Matter Ardent Utility 2

i ally that the wounds he or she suffers are not

Daily ♦ Psionic

Minor Action Ranged 5

Target: You or one ally

Effect: The target gains temporary hit points equal to his or her
healing surge value.

Level 3 At-Will Disciplines

Distracting Strike Ardent Attack 3

With a savage strike, you wrench your enemy’s attention from
an ally.

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and either you or an
ally adjacent to the target marks it until the end of your

Augment 1

Effect: The marked condition ends on allies adjacent to
you, who can each shift 1 square as a free action.
Augment 2
Close burst 1

Target: Each enemy in burst

Prescient Strike

Ardent Attack 3 1

You see the danger and let your weapon se
your comrade.

•rve as warning to

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Primary Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage. When the target at¬
tacks you or an ally adjacent to you during its next turn, you
can make the following secondary attack against it as an
immediate interrupt.

Secondary Attack: Charisma vs. Will
Hit: The target takes a penalty to its attack roll equal to your
Wisdom modifier.

Augment 1

Hit: As above, but you can make the secondary attack only
if the target attacks your or the ally’s Will. You gain a bonus
to the secondary attack roll equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Augment 2

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage. When the target
attacks you or an ally you can see during its next turn, you
can make the following secondary attack against it as an
immediate interrupt, with a bonus to the secondary attack
roll equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Level 5 Daily Disciplines

Enlightening Pulse Ardent Attack 5

Clarity pulses out from your mind, creating an area that helps

your allies free themselves from unfavorable circumstances.

Daily ♦ Psionic, Weapon, Zone

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 3[W] + Charisma modifier damage.

Effect: The attack creates a zone in a close burst 2. The zone
lasts until the end of your next turn. When an ally damages
an enemy that is within the zone, one ally within the zone
can make a saving throw with a power bonus equal to your
Wisdom modifier.

Sustain Minor: The zone persists.

You bend space to let yourself and an ally exchange positions.

Daily ♦ Healing, Psionic, Teleportation
Standard Action Close burst 5

Target: You and one ally in burst

Effect: The targets teleport, swapping positions, and can then
each make a basic attack as a free action, with a +2 power
bonus to the attack rolls. For each of these attacks that hits,
you or one ally you can see can both spend a healing surge
and make a saving throw. If both basic attacks miss, you
regain the use of this power.

You accelerate your friend’s natural healing ability so that his
or her wounds close with amazing speed.

Daily ♦ Healing, Psionic

Minor Action Melee touch

Target: You or one ally

Effect: The target regains hit points as if he or she had spent a
healing surge.

Level 6 Utility Disciplines

1 Evade Attack

Ardent Utility 6 1

When your friend steps ir
to safety.

ito harm’s way you whisk him or her

Encounter ♦ Psionic, Teleportation
Immediate Interrupt Ranged 20

Trigger: An ally is hit by an opportunity attack
Target: The triggering ally

Effect: You teleport the target a number of squares equal to
your Charisma modifier.

Mend Wounds Ardent Utility 6

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Player's Handbook 3 Debut: Ardent

Level 7 At-Will Disciplines

Courageous Strike Ardent Attack 7

You strike at your foe and fill your friend with courage, bol¬
stering both of you against the foe’s attacks.

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and you and one ally
adjacent to you gain a +2 power bonus to AC against the
target’s attacks until the end of your next turn.

Augment I

Hit: As above, but the power bonus applies to all defenses,
not just AC.

Augment 2 (Zone)

Close burst 1

Target: Each enemy in burst

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage.

Effect: The burst creates a zone that lasts until the end of
your next turn. You and your allies gain a power bonus to
AC equal to your Wisdom modifier while within the zone.

Mindlink Strike Ardent Attack 7

Linking minds with an ally, you coordinate your efforts to
confound your foe.

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee 1

Target: One creature

Effect: One ally adjacent to you can make a melee basic attack
against the target as an opportunity action. On a hit, you
and the ally can each shift as a free action.

Augment 1

Effect: As above, and the ally gains a +3 power bonus to
the damage roll if he or she is marking the target.

Augment 2
Close burst 1

Target: Each enemy you can see in burst
Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and one ally adjacent
to the target can make a melee basic attack against it as an
opportunity action.

Level 9 Daily Disciplines

1 Dulled Reflexes

Ardent Attack 9 1

Your foe moves slower and slower until it can’t move, and its
slowness infects its allies.

Daily ♦ Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action

Target: One creature

Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Melee weapon

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and the target takes a
-2 penalty to speed (save ends). Until the penalty ends, it
worsens by 2 whenever the target attacks. When the tar¬
get’s speed reaches 0 in this way, the penalty ends, but the
target is restrained and stunned (save ends both).

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, any enemy that starts its
turn adjacent to the target is slowed (save ends).

1 Feast of Plenty

Ardent Attack 9 1

You wrap your foe in a psionic t
for your allies.

let that leaches power from it

Daily ♦ Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action

Target: One creature

Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Melee weapon

Hit: 3[W] + Charisma modifier damage.

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, whenever the target
takes damage, you and each ally adjacent to you gain
temporary hit points equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.

COMMENTARY

JW: I like the flavor of using psionic powers to coor¬
dinate your allies’ actions, bringing your group into
greater harmony.

Level 10 Utility Disciplines

From the Brink Ardent Utility 10

Your friend hovers near death. You touch his or her mind, and
your friend awakens with a start.

Daily ♦Healing, Psionic

Minor Action Close burst 10

Target: One ally

Effect: The target regains hit points as if he or she had spent
a healing surge. If the target is dying, he or she regains ad¬
ditional hit points equal to 2d10 + your Charisma modifier.
In addition, the target can stand up as a free action.

Your allies find new courage with your support.

Encounter ♦ Psionic

Minor Action Close burst 1

Target: You and each ally in burst

Effect: Until the end of your next turn, each target gains a +2
power bonus to attack rolls and a +2 power bonus to sav¬
ing throws against fear effects.

Level 13 At-Will Disciplines

1 Hope’s Audacity

Ardent Attack 13 1

Your optimism and confidenci
around you.

2 are an inspiration to those

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Weapon

Standard Action

Target: One creature

Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Melee weapon

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage. Until the start of your
next turn, allies within 5 squares of you can score a critical
hit against the target on a roll of 19-20.

Augment 1

Hit: As above, and whenever an ally scores a critical hit
against the target before the start of your next turn, you
and each ally within 5 squares of you can shift 1 square as
a free action.

Augment 4

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage. Until the start of
your next turn, allies within 5 squares of you can score a
critical hit on a roll of 19-20.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Player's Handbook 3 Debut: Ardent

Revelatory Strike Ardent Attack 13

As you strike, you open your ally’s mind, allowing him or her
to see ways to overcome various ills.

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage. One ally adjacent to
you or the target can either make a saving throw or gain a
+1 power bonus to all defenses until the end of your next

Augment 1

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage. One ally adjacent
to you or the target can either make a saving throw with a
+5 power bonus against a charm or illusion effect or gain a
power bonus to Will equal to your Wisdom modifier until
the end of your next turn.

Augment 4 (Zone)

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage. The attack creates
a zone in a close burst 2. The zone lasts until the end of
your next turn. Any ally who starts his or her turn within
the zone can either make a saving throw with a +2 power
bonus or gain a power bonus to all defenses equal to your
Wisdom modifier until the end of his or her next turn.

Commentary

JW: The language of enlightenment and revelation
throughout this class’s powers hint at its heritage as the
psionic class most tied to the gods.

Level 15 Daily Disciplines

Imminent Demise Ardent Attack 15

Your enemies face certain doom, and you force them to see it
and despair.

Daily ♦ Psionic, Psychic, Weapon, Zone

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier psychic damage.

Miss: Half damage.

Effect: The attack creates a zone in a close burst 1. The zone
lasts until the end of your next turn. Bloodied enemies that
start their turn within the zone take 10 psychic damage.
Sustain Minor: The zone persists.

Vigorous Offensive Ardent Attack 15

As battle’s thrill overtakes you and you swing your weapon all
around, your allies share in the same emotions.

Daily ♦ Psionic, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One, two, three, or four creatures

Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage.

Effect: For each attack you make with this power, an ally within
5 squares of you gains temporary hit points equal to 3 +
your Charisma modifier.

Level 16 Utility Disciplines

1 Bountiful Life

Ardent Utility 16 1

As your fortunes improve, so

too do those of your allies.

Daily ♦ Psionic, Zone
Standard Action

Close burst 10

Effect: The burst creates a zo

me that lasts until the end of your

next turn. Whenever you regain hit points, each ally within
the zone gains temporary hit points equal to half the hit
points you regained.

Sustain Minor: The zone persists.

1 Re-Form Mind

Ardent Utility 16 1

You connect the target’s thoughts ti

o awaken new talents.

Daily ♦ Psionic

Standard Action Melee touch

Requirement: You must be taking a short rest.

Target: One creature

Effect: The target gains training in a skill of your choice until
you take an extended rest.

Level 17 At-Will Disciplines

Diamond Defense Assault Ardent Attack 17

The crystalline motes released by your attack shelter your al¬
lies and interfere with your enemies’ strikes.

At-Will 4 Augmentable, Psionic, Psychic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier psychic damage. One ally adja¬
cent to the target marks it until the end of your next turn.
Augment 1

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier psychic damage. If the
target shifts during its next turn, one ally can make a melee
basic attack against it as a free action.

Augment 4 (Zone)

Close burst 2

Target: Each enemy in burst

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and you slide the
target 1 square.

Effect: The burst creates a zone that lasts until the end of
your next turn. While within the zone, allies gain a +4 bo¬
nus to all defenses against attacks from outside the zone,
and enemies take a -2 penalty to attack rolls.

1 Temporal

Strike

Ardent Attack 17 1

Time bends ai

roundyourfoe

to protect your allies.

At-Will 4 Augmentable, Psionic, Weapon, Zone
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage. The attack creates a
zone in a close burst 2. The zone lasts until the end of your
next turn. While within the zone, you and your allies are
insubstantial against opportunity attacks.

Augment 1

Hit: As above, but you and your allies are instead
insubstantial against attacks that target Reflex.

Augment 4

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and the target is
slowed until the end of your next turn. The attack creates a
zone in a close burst 2. The zone lasts until the end of your
next turn. While within the zone, you and your allies are
insubstantial.

2009 | DRAGON 382

Player's Handbook 3 Debut: Ardent

Level 19 Daily Disciplines

Deflecting Disk Ardent Attack 19

Your attack manifests a shimmering field, whichyou can
move to protect your allies.

Daily ♦ Conjuration, Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 4[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and you push the tar¬
get 2 squares.

Miss: Half damage.

Effect: You conjure a shimmering disk of force in a square with¬
in 5 squares of you. Allies in the disk’s square or adjacent to
it gain a +2 power bonus to all defenses. You can move the
disk 3 squares as part of a move action. When an attack
hits an ally adjacent to the disk, you can use an immedi¬
ate interrupt to grant the ally a +2 bonus to all defenses
against that attack. The disk lasts until the end of the en¬
counter or until you use the immediate interrupt.

Shared Vigor Ardent Attack 19

You create an expanse of glittering energy to reinvigorate your
allies.

Daily ♦ Healing, Psionic, Weapon, Zone

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 3[W] + Charisma modifier damage.

Effect: The attack creates a zone in a close burst 2. The zone
lasts until the end of the encounter. When any ally within
the zone spends a healing surge, all other allies within the
zone regain 1 dl 0 hit points.

Level 22 Utility Disciplines

Insensate Mind _Ardent Utility 22

You influence the mind of your ally so that he or she doesn’t
feel pain for a time.

Encounter ♦ Psionic

Minor Action Melee touch

Target: One creature

Effect: The target gains resistance to all damage equal to one-
half your level until the end of your next turn.

You channel positive thoughts to speed your allies’ recovery.

Daily ♦ Healing, Psionic, Zone

Minor Action Close burst 1

Effect: The burst creates a zone that lasts until the end of
your next turn. When you move, the zone moves with you,
remaining centered on you. Any ally who starts his or her
turn within the zone regains 10 hit points.

Sustain Minor: The zone persists.

Level 23 At-Will Disciplines

Perception Shift Ardent Attack 23

As you strike, you force your victim to attack where your allies
are strongest.

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Psychic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. Will

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier psychic damage. The next time
the target makes an attack before the start of your next
turn, it attacks a defense of your choice.

Augment 2
Close burst 1

Target: Each enemy you can see in burst
Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier psychic damage. Whenever
the target attacks before the end of your next turn, it
attacks a defense of your choice.

Augment 6 (Zone)

Close burst 1

Target: Each enemy you can see in burst
Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier psychic damage. Whenever
the target attacks before the end of your next turn, it at¬
tacks a defense of your choice.

Effect: The burst creates a zone that lasts until the end of
your next turn. When any enemy attacks while within the
zone, the enemy attacks a defense of your choice.

Revealing Strike Ardent Attack 23

Your attack highlights the target’s weaknesses.

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and the target takes a
-2 penalty to all defenses until the start of your next turn.
Augment 2

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and the target
takes a -2 penalty to all defenses and can’t benefit from
concealment or invisibility until the end of your next turn.
Augment 6

Hit: 4[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and the target takes
a -3 penalty to all defenses until the end of your next turn.
In addition, you and each ally adjacent to you gain blind-
sight 10 until the end of your next turn.

Level 25 Daily Disciplines

Corona of Battle Ardent Attack 25

Your emotions emanate from you to instill new courage and
prowess in your allies.

Daily ♦ Healing, Psionic, Zone
Standard Action Close burst 5

Effect: The burst creates a zone that lasts until the end of your
next turn. When you move, the zone moves with you, re¬
maining centered on you. While within the zone, allies gain
regeneration 5 and a +2 power bonus to attack rolls, and
their attacks deal 1 dl 0 extra damage.

Sustain Minor: The zone persists.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Player's Handbook 3 Debut: Ardent

Intellect Bomb Ardent Attack 25

Your attack implants a psychic bomb in your foe’s mind.

Daily ♦ Psionic, Psychic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Primary Target: One creature
Primary Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 3[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and you slide the pri¬
mary target 1 square.

Effect: Before the end of the encounter, you can make the
following secondary attack once, either when the primary
target drops to 0 hit points or as a minor action. The
secondary attack is a close burst 2 centered on the primary

Secondary Target: Each enemy in burst
Secondary Attack: Charisma vs. Will
Hit: 2dl 0 + Charisma modifier psychic damage, and the
secondary target is dazed until the end of your next turn.

Level 27 At-Will Disciplines

Dismissive Strike Ardent Attack 27

When your attack hits, you dismiss your enemy and leave it to
face your friends.

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Teleportation, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and you teleport the
target 5 squares to a square adjacent to an ally.

Augment 2
Close burst 1

Target: Each enemy you can see in burst

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier damage, and you teleport

the target to a square adjacent to an ally who is adjacent to

Augment 6 (Zone)

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage.

Effect: The attack creates a zone in a close burst 1. The zone
lasts until the end of your next turn. When any enemy en¬
ters the zone or starts its turn there, you can teleport that
enemy 5 squares as a free action. Any ally who enters the
zone or starts his or her turn there can teleport 5 squares
as a free action.

Exhilarating Strike Ardent Attack 27

You inspireyour allies to strike, and success rewards them with
recovery.

At-Will ♦ Augmentable, Psionic
Standard Action Close burst S

Target: One ally in burst

Effect: The target can make a melee basic attack as a free
Augment 2

Effect: The target can make a melee basic attack as a free
action, with a power bonus to the damage roll equal to
your Wisdom modifier. If that attack hits, the target can
make a saving throw.

Augment 6

Target: Each ally in burst

Effect: Each target can use a free action either to make a
basic attack or to charge, with a power bonus to the dam¬
age roll equal to your Wisdom modifier. If a target hits, he
or she can make a saving throw.

Level 29 Daily Disciplines

Image of Doom Ardent Attack 29

In the mind of your enemy, you become the image of its doom,
and it quails before your attacks.

Daily ♦ Fear, Psionic, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 5[W] + Charisma modifier damage.

Miss: Half damage.

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, the target takes a -2
penalty to attack rolls and all defenses while it can see you,
and you can slide it 1 square as a free action when it takes
damage from any attack.

Violent Spark Ardent Attack 29

Crimson light shines from your allies’ eyes as your comrades
make a sudden barrage of attacks.

Daily ♦ Psionic

Standard Action Close burst 10

Target: Each ally in burst

Effect: Each target can make an at-will attack as a free ac¬
tion, with a power bonus to the damage roll equal to your
Wisdom modifier. If a target misses, he or she can make a
saving throw.

PARAGON PATHS

Psionic Binder

“I am your prison. From me there is
no escape”

Prerequisite: Ardent

Though no chains bind them, your enemies become
your prisoners. You are a psionic binder, a living
prison whose thoughts are as strong as adamantine
bonds. When you engage your foes, you redirect their
thoughts inward, forming mental walls to constrain
their thoughts and root them to the spot. You can
keep your enemy imprisoned long enough for your
allies to close in and deliver whatever justice the foe
deserves.

The aberrant menace is a wily threat, slipping
unseen into the mortal world and spreading its corrupt¬
ing influence to foment unrest and mutation wherever
it goes. No matter how many aberrant monsters are
destroyed, others spawn to spread wickedness. The
only answer is containment. By pinning down the
threat, you can destroy it, one monster at a time.

COMMENTARY

JW: This is a reference to the overarching story of

psionics we introduce in Player’s Handbook 3.

By no means are your efforts exclusive to aberrant
enemies. Any who stand against you in your single-
minded pursuit deserve your dread attention.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Player's Handbook 3 Debut: Ardent

Psionic Binder Path Features

Constant Jailer (11th level): Whenever you
hit an immobilized creature with a melee or a close
attack, that creature can’t make saving throws on its
next turn against effects that immobilize.

Imprisoning Action (11th level): When you
spend an action point to make an attack and the
attack hits, the target is also restrained (save ends).

Paragon Power Points (11th level): You gain 2
additional power points.

Crushing Walls (16th level): While you are
adjacent to an immobilized enemy, that enemy grants
combat advantage.

Psion ic Binder Disciplines

Binding Strike Psionic Binder Attack 11

Your strike binds the enemy’s mind with psionic chains.

Encounter ♦ Augmentable, Psionic, Psychic, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Charisma modifier psychic damage, and the target
is immobilized until the start of your next turn.

Augment 2

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier psychic damage, and the
target is immobilized until the start of your next turn.

Executioner’s Summons Psionic Binder Utility 12

With your enemy pinned down, you call forth the executioner
to give it a quick end.

Encounter ♦ Psionic, Teleportation
Move Action Close burst 5

Requirement: You must be adjacent to an immobilized enemy.
Target: One ally in burst

Effect: You teleport the target to a square adjacent to an im¬
mobilized enemy adjacent to you. Until the end of your
next turn, the target gains +2 power bonus to attack rolls
against that enemy and a power bonus to damage rolls
against it equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Perfect Prison Psionic Binder Attack 20

Your foe’s thoughts collapse under the terrifying weight of
your attack.

Daily ♦ Fear, Psionic, Weapon, Zone
Standard Action Close burst 1

Target: Each enemy in burst
Attack: Charisma vs. AC

Hit: 2[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and the target is dazed
and slowed (save ends both).

Miss: Half damage.

Effect: The burst creates a zone that lasts until the end of your
next turn. Dazed creatures cannot leave the zone. As a
move action, you can move the zone 3 squares.

Sustain Minor: The zone persists.

Talaric Strategist
“Your thoughts betray you”

Prerequisite: Ardent

You have found fragments of writing from this
ancient society and learned to focus your psionic
powers to give you a tactical advantage in battle.
Because your training was haphazard and pieced
together from fragments of lore, you improvise where
your training is incomplete, drawing from your
ardent powers to fill your gaps in knowledge. Still, the
teachings you uncovered proved instructive, and you
can take charge of nearly any battlefield.

Central to your learning is the ability to read your
enemies’ intent and turn it against them. You trans¬
late the clarity of your vision and your openness to
the thoughts and experiences of those around you
into a decided tactical advantage. You can warn allies
against impending attacks, move companions to
adapt to enemy formations, and help your allies scat¬
ter when they are faced with devastating magic.

Long ago, when aberrant monsters first spilled into
the mortal world, a warrior society was formed to
protect the world from the Far Realm’s corrupting
influence. The society’s members recorded their tech¬
niques in a volume known as the Talaric Codex. In it
were the forms and disciplines needed to master their
psionic fighting art. In the countless years since its
formation, the society has decayed and dissolved. Its
monasteries have fallen, and the writings of its adepts
have been scattered across the world.

COMMENTARY

JW: We’ve envisioned psionics as both an ancient (and
nearly-forgotten) art practiced in secluded monasteries,
and a newly re-emergent technique arising to combat a
growing threat to the world.

Talaric Strategist Path Features

Anticipatory Action (11th level): When an
enemy enters a square adjacent to you, you can spend
an action point to take a standard action as an imme¬
diate interrupt.

Battle Instinct (11th level): You and allies
within 5 squares of you gain a +2 power bonus to ini¬
tiative checks.

Paragon Power Points (11th level): You gain 2
additional power points.

Tactician’s Surge (16th level): Whenever you
use your ardent surge power, you can slide each ally in
the burst 1 square.

Decer

zr 2009 | DRAGON 382

Player's Handbook 3 Debut: Ardent

Talaric Strategist Disciplines

Anticipation Tactics Talaric Strategist Attack 11

Your tactical intuition places your ally just where he or she
needs to be.

Encounter ♦ Augmentable, Psionic
Immediate Interrupt Close burst 3

Trigger: An enemy within 2 squares of you makes a melee
attack

Target: One ally in burst

Effect: The target can use a free action to shift 1 square and
make a melee basic attack against the triggering enemy.
That attack deals 1 d8 extra damage to the enemy.
Augment 2

Target: One or two allies in burst or you and one ally in

Effect: Each target can use a free action to shift 2 squares
and make a basic attack against the triggering enemy.

Insightful Command Talaric Strategist Utility 12

You exhort your allies to move to new positions or to defend
themselves.

Daily ♦ Psionic

Minor Action Close burst 5

Target: You and each ally in burst

Effect: Each target can either shift half his or her speed as a
free action or gain a +3 bonus to all defenses until the end
of your next turn.

Combined Effort Talaric Strategist Attack 20

Drawing from your allies’perceptions, you discern the best
place to strike.

Daily ♦ Psionic, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Attack: Charisma vs. AC. You gain a +1 bonus to the attack roll
for each ally within 2 squares of the target.

Hit: 4[W] + Charisma modifier damage, and the target is dazed
(save ends).

Miss: Half damage, and the target is dazed until the end of

FEATS

Bolstering Mantle

Prerequisite: Ardent, Ardent Mantle class feature
Benefit: Whenever you spend a healing surge,
one ally within the radius of your Ardent Mantle can
either gain 5 temporary hit points or make a saving
throw.

COMMENTARY

JW: Many of the best feats build on existing class fea¬
tures, making them better in simple ways that are easy
to note on your character sheet or power card and thus
hard to forget.

Alacrity oe Fortune

Prerequisite: 11th level, ardent, Mantle of Clarity
class feature

Benefit: Whenever an ally within the radius of
your Ardent Mantle makes a save, he or she can shift
1 square as a free action.

Improved Ardent Surge

Prerequisite: 11th level, ardent, ardent surge
power

Benefit: The target of your ardent surge regains
additional hit points equal to your Charisma modifier.

Clarieied Instincts

Prerequisite: Ardent, Mantle of Clarity class
feature

Benefit: The bonus to Insight checks and Percep¬
tion checks granted by your Mantle of Clarity equals
your Wisdom modifier, instead of +2.

Heartening Surge

Prerequisite: Ardent, ardent surge power
Benefit: The bonus that your ardent surge grants to
either defenses or attack rolls increases by 1.

Mantle oe Readiness

Prerequisite: Ardent, Ardent Mantle class feature
Benefit: During surprise rounds and the first
non-surprise round of any encounter, you and each
ally who starts his or her turn within the radius of
your Ardent Mantle gain a +2 bonus to speed.

Widened Mantle

Prerequisite: 11th level, ardent, Ardent Mantle
class feature

Benefit: The radius of your Ardent Mantle
increases to 10.

Epic Alacrity

Prerequisite: 21st level, ardent, ardent alacrity
power

Benefit: Each ally affected by your ardent alacrity
can shift half his or her speed, instead of 1 square.

About the Author

Robert I. Schwalb is an award-winning game designer
whose more recent work can he found in Martial Power™ 2,
Draconomicon™: Metallic Dragons, and Primal Power™. Robert
lives in Tennessee.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

SWORDMAGE ESSENTIALS:

Art of the Blade

By Andy Collins

Illustrations by McLean Kendree

“Valandra, what am I holding?”

“A sword, master.”

“Wrong. What am I holding?”

“A perfectly balanced longsword, a testament to
eladrin craft.”

“Wrong. What am I holding?”

“An implement through whichyou cast your spells.”
“Wrong. What am I holding?”

“I .. . do not know, master.”

“You see only the physical. Untilyou learn to see the
blade not as three feet of sharpened steel, but as an
indivisible part of your own arcane identity, you will
never master the path of the swordmage.”

~ Sardis the Ghost Blade
Master of the Emerald Academy

In many ways, the swordmage is a study in contradic¬
tions. A lightly armored defender. A front-line fighter
who teleports around the battlefield. A melee warrior
who wields flashy arcane spells. These contradictions
confuse those who don’t understand the way of the
swordmage, often leading them to believe their blade-
wielding opponent weak or vulnerable.

Such fools rarely survive to learn from their error.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

SWORDMAGE ESSENTIALS: ART OE THE SWORD

THE BASICS

“Concentrate on the blade across the room. See it in
your hand. Feel its sturdy weight. Smell the oiled leather
wrapped around the grip. Hear the faint breeze, sliced in
two by the sharpened edge. When your mind and body
accept that the sword is not there, but here, reality will
follow.”

—From the first lesson of the Emerald Academy

As a defender, your primary role is to stand between
your allies and the monsters who seek to devour
them. However, most swordmages have a strong sec-

WHAT IF YOU’RE THE
ONLY DEFENDER?

Most of the advice in this article assumes either
that you have another defender in the party, or
at least a reasonably durable melee combatant
(such as a barbarian or warlord). As long as you
have some help on the front line, you can afford
to teleport around the battlefield, or mark ene¬
mies and then move to a new foe.

But if that’s not the case—for instance, if your
only allies are a wizard, a rogue, and a nonmelee
cleric—you must adjust your tactics and power
and feat selections. Focus on personal surviv¬
ability over damage-dealing, choosing feats such
as Durable and Toughness and powers such as
dimensional warp (to rescue a trapped comrade),
host of shields (to boost your own defenses), and
dimensional vortex (to redirect an attack from an
ally to an enemy). Regardless of power selection,
aegis of shielding is likely your best aegis choice-
all the better to keep your allies alive and kicking.

ondary flavor either of striker—if they favor mobility
and high-damage attacks-or of controller, if they
rely on blasts, ranged attacks, and enemy lockdown
effects.

The Swordmage Aegis

Like other defenders, the swordmage has the abil¬
ity to mark enemies (primarily by using his or her
Swordmage Aegis power), creating an incentive for
that foe to attack the swordmage in preference to
other characters.

However, the tactics your swordmage uses in
deciding who and when to mark, and what to do after
you mark, differentiate you from other defenders in
many significant ways. In fact, how you choose and
use your Swordmage Aegis is a key part of playing an
effective swordmage.

Choosing Your Aegis

The first choice that every swordmage must make is
which Swordmage Aegis he or she will use: assault,
ensnarement, or shielding. All three Swordmage
Aegis powers have the same action cost (minor),
range (close burst 2), and targets (one creature in
burst); all three mark the target; and all three have a
secondary effect triggered when the marked target
hits with an attack that doesn’t include you as a target.
The differences come in the secondary effect applied
when that hit occurs, so that’s where you’ll make your
decision on which aegis fits you best.

If you just love hitting bad guys with your sword,
then you can’t go wrong with the aegis of assault. Its
effect is the most iconically defenderlike-teleport to
the marked enemy and make a melee basic attack
against it—so it’s easy to compare it to other defenders.

But getting a free swing at the enemy is only part of
the benefit: It also adds significant mobility to your
character with the teleportation effect it has. If your
swordmage has difficulty keeping up with enemies,
or even if you just like to move around the battle-
field-aegis of assault is perfect for you.

Aegis of ensnarement also brings you back into the
fight, but in the opposite way: by teleporting the
marked foe to your side. Again, this works well if you
have trouble staying with your foes, but in this case
you can decide where the ensuing fight occurs. The
other half of the aegis effect—granting combat advan¬
tage to all attacks made against the marked foe that
you teleport—doesn’t seem as sexy as a free attack, but
that +2 bonus to attack rolls can result in a lot of extra
damage from you and your buddies. If you like stay¬
ing put and buffing your and your allies’ attacks, aegis
of ensnarement is a good choice.

Of the three options, aegis of shielding is the least
like other defender marking powers, since it doesn’t
lead (either directly or indirectly) to damaging the
marked foe. However, its effect is guaranteed: Neither
you nor an ally has to hit the marked foe to gain the
benefit of your aegis. You just automatically reduce
the incoming damage, which is just as good as heal¬
ing the ally who got hit. With a good Constitution
score, you can expect to reduce the damage by 50% or
more. If you’re content with a patient, let’s-wait-them-
out approach to combat (and if you’re one of those
players who avoids unnecessary dice rolling), then
you should select aegis of shielding.

Managing Actions

The minor-action cost of using your Swordmage Aegis
seems trivial at first glance, but as you gain additional
powers and items that use your minor action, you’ll

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

SWORDMAGE ESSENTIALS: ART OE THE SWORD

realize the importance of managing even the smallest
of your actions.

At the start of every one of your turns, ask yourself
if you’ll need to use your Swordmage Aegis this turn.
It’s easy to forget and use your minor action for some¬
thing else, then realize that to mark a new foe you’ll
have to spend your move or standard action, or even
burn an action point!

Similarly, keep an eye on your immediate action
usage. You only get one per round, so if you pick up a
power (such as frost backlash) or magic item that uses

an immediate action, remember that you can’t use
that option and trigger the secondary effect of your
Swordmage Aegis in the same turn.

In both cases, consider using two-sided tokens (one
for minor, one for immediate) that remind you when
each of these actions have been used. You can use
big coins (half-dollars are good, as are any number of
large coins of other currencies), but it’s less confusing
to use something clearly and appropriately marked
(for instance, “MINOR USED” and “MINOR AVAIL¬
ABLE”). When used properly, these simple tokens
can head off a lot of rules arguments between you and
your Dungeon Master!

Positioning

Unlike most defenders, the swordmage need not stay
close to the marked enemy to deliver the full effect
of his or her aegis-created mark. In fact, the oppo¬
site is true: In many cases, the best place for your
swordmage to be after marking a foe is anywhere but
adjacent to it!

All three Swordmage Aegis powers require only
that you be within 10 squares of the marked target to
activate the immediate-action rider effect. In the right
circumstances, you can use that range to your benefit
by keeping a moderate distance between you and the
marked foe. This presents the marked target with a
quandary:

♦ If it stays put and attacks someone else,

it takes a -2 penalty to the attack roll and (if it hits)
your aegis effect triggers—either a teleportation effect
brings you and the enemy back together, or you
reduce the damage dealt to your ally.

♦ If it comes after you, its movement likely
provokes one or more opportunity attacks from your
allies.

This tactic works best against melee-oriented
enemies, especially brutes: their low accuracy means
the attack penalty from your mark is particularly
effective, and their low AC means that your allies’
opportunity attacks are more likely to hit.

On the other hand, an enemy with good ranged
attack powers doesn’t have to chase you to avoid the
drawbacks applied by your aegis, so this trick doesn’t
work well against them. Stick to an in-your-face
approach with such enemies.

Timing

Since your marking power is separate from your
attacks, you can be choosy about where and when you
apply your Swordmage Aegis (unlike the fighter, who
can mark only the creature he or she attacks). Here
are some questions to ponder when deciding when to
use your aegis:

Before or after I move? Another way of thinking
about this is, “Do I want to end up next to the marked
target, or across the room from it?” Before you leave
your starting square, ask yourself if the foe you want
to mark is already nearby; if it is, use your aegis before
moving away.

Example: Use your aegis of assault to mark a zombie
hulk 2 squares away, then move across the room
to attack the zombie’s necromancer master. If the
zombie comes after you, he has to weave between the
other combatants (potentially provoking opportunity
attacks, assuming he can even reach you). If he stays
put and smacks your ally, the teleportation effect of
aegis of assault gets you back in its grill.

Am I charging? This is technically a subset of the
previous question, but it’s even more restrictive, since
charging ends your turn. Spare yourself the disap¬
pointment of delivering a devastating charge attack

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

SWORDMAGE ESSENTIALS: ART OE THE SWORD

SWORDMAGE ARMOR CLASS

As a defender, you rely on your Armor Class more
than any other defense. Among all the defenders,
however, you get the worst armor selection-nothing
better than leather! So how can you keep up with
the fighter and paladin, who are decked out in heavy
metal armor and toting shields? But before you start
worrying too much, remember the two edges that
you have over other defenders.

The first is your Swordmage Warding. Compared
to any other character, this is a flat +1 bonus to AC.
If you and the fighter both carry greatswords, you
have a +1 bonus that he doesn’t have. And if you both
prefer longswords, your warding’s bonus climbs to +3
compared to his heavy shield’s +2.

The second is your sizeable Intelligence modifier,
which closes the rest of the gap between you and the
fighter. (As if you didn’t have enough reasons to keep
that Intelligence score up . . .).

The table below outlines relative AC values
between the four existing defender classes at 1st,
11th, and 21st level. The table assumes your primary
ability score starts at 18 and is increased at every
available interval, while secondary ability scores start
at 16 and are increased twice per tier. The level 11
values include the armor bonus of +3 masterwork
armor, while the level 21 values include the armor
bonus of +5 masterwork armor. The values don’t
include any extra bonuses you might derive from
feats or other optional effects. Reduce all AC values
by 2 if you wield a two-handed weapon.

1 Class

Level 1

Level 11

Level 21

Fighter

Paladin

Swordmage

Warden

As you can see, the swordmage keeps up nicely with
the fighter’s AC and stays between the warden and

If you’re looking for ways to improve your AC,
consider these options:

Hide Armor: With a Strength and Constitution of
13 or higher, you can increase your AC by 1 point for
a single feat. In the paragon tier, Armor Specialization
(Hide) adds another point, but requires a 15 Constitu¬
tion. This path is best for ensnaring swordmages and
shielding swordmages (because of their high Consti¬
tution scores).

Improve Your Warding: The Improved Sword¬
mage Warding feat increases your AC by a point
without adding the skill check penalty that hide
armor incurs. With a prerequisite of Dexterity 13,
it’s best for eladrin, elves, halflings, and other high-
Dexterity swordmages. Greater Swordmage Warding,
a paragon-tier feat, improves all your defenses by
a point. It even stacks with Improved Swordmage
Warding, though it requires a minimum 13 score in
both Strength and Constitution, making it tough to
qualify for both feats without a racial bonus or two.

only to find yourself incapable of marking anyone
because your turn is over.

Who’s most dangerous? In other words, which
of my enemies do I want to attack me instead of my
friends? Even if you can build a clever plan of mark,
move, attack, then teleport back to deliver a sneaky
extra attack, that’s not too helpful if the marked target
drops your ally before you teleport in. Sometimes
it pays to keep it simple and mark the enemy most
likely to cause your allies problems. And if you’re
particularly resistant to an enemy’s attacks—whether
due to a high defense score, positioning, or resistance
to damage—that’s all the more reason to draw its
attention.

Example: Using the same fight described above,
imagine if that necromancer has been unleashing
death ray attacks on your comrades throughout the
fight while the zombie hulk’s nothing more than a
meat shield. Marking the zombie becomes a waste
of effort-his attacks are meaningless compared to
the deadly ranged zaps of the necromancer—so you
should move up, mark the necromancer with your
aegis, and then start beating on your new target.

SWORDMAGE BUILDS

Since Strength probably isn’t your best score, you
likely need either Intelligent Blademaster or Melee
Training to keep your melee basic attacks useful.
The assault swordmage makes the most melee basic
attacks, but the other builds have an even lower
Strength score.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

SWORDMAGE ESSENTIALS: ART OE THE SWORD

Assault Swordmage

“No enemy can escape my blade.”

-Terander the Bold

This swordmage build feels the most like a traditional
defender because it allows you to attack any enemy
with the temerity to strike the your ally. Even though
you frequently dive headlong into combat, don’t
worry too much about your Armor Class unless you’re
alone on the front line. Grab a greats word or falchion
(or better yet, a fullblade) and crank up your accuracy

and damage with feats such as Escalating Assault,
Weapon Expertise, and Weapon Focus. If it helps,
think of it this way: The lower your AC, the more
likely that monsters will ignore your allies and try
to kill you instead. Just make sure you have a healer
nearby to keep you alive!

Power Selection

Since you likely wield a two-handed weapon, you
should favor weapon attacks over implement attacks,
since the damage dice are higher for the former. For
example, lightning clash’s 1[W] + Intelligence modifier
damage roll becomes ldlO + Intelligence modifier
with a greatsword, so why bother with crackling burst’s
measly ld8 damage?

Look for powers that you can use in place of the
melee basic attack granted by your aegis of assault,
such as blastback swipe, spikes of agony, and binding
light. These can dramatically increase your damage
output in early rounds of combat by letting you use
multiple encounter powers in the same round with¬
out spending action points.

Your first at-will power choice should be green-
flame blade. It’s even better than the fighter’s cleave
for burning through hordes of minions. For your
second choice, consider a more specialized attack;
since greenflame blade is always reasonably useful,
having a more circumstantially useful at-will power
in your back pocket is handy. I recommend lightning
lure; even though it breaks the “rule” described above
about favoring weapon attacks, it’s incredibly handy
for getting to a foe who stubbornly remains out of
your reach (such as the archer on that 15-foot-high
ledge).

Finally, anything that puts your Strength score to
use is worth considering: look at burning blade, watch¬
ful strike, and forceful dismissal for examples.

Ensnaring Swordmage

“Control the foe andyou control the battle. Control the
battle andyou live to fight again.”

-Skamos of the Bloody Blade

While the assault swordmage often feels the most
cinematic-teleporting back and forth across the
battlefield to deliver powerful sword-swings-you
know that you’re the best at locking down the battle
and ensuring that it’s fought on your terms. A good
Constitution score is helpful, but not as important for
you as for the shielding swordmage, so you can afford
to spend a couple of points on another ability score
(perhaps to pick up a useful feat).

Power Selection

You’ll spend most of combat toe-to-toe with enemies,
so pick up melee and close burst powers to avoid pro¬
voking unnecessary opportunity attacks.

Since you’ll often be drawing monsters to you by
using your aegis of ensnarement, look for powers that
punish monsters for moving away from you on their
next turn, such as crackling burst and dragon’s teeth.
(Spikes of agony isn’t a terrible choice, but it relies on a
good Strength score to get full effect.)

For at-will powers, luring strike is great-first you
teleport the foe to you with aegis of ensnarement, and
then you slide it into position with luring strike. If you
favor a one-handed weapon, pick up sword burst; oth¬
erwise booming blade is your best second option.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

SWORDMAGE ESSENTIALS: ART OE THE SWORD

Shielding Swordmage

“Patience and discipline mark the path of survival.”

—Ysandra Moonsilver

The least flashy of the three swordmage builds, the
shielding swordmage sacrifices offense for party
survival. Keep your Constitution as high as you can;
every 2 -point increase saves another point of damage
each time you activate your aegis of shielding to protect
an ally. The Retributive Shield feat helps you con¬
tribute more to offense, and both Closing Advantage
and Combat Casting are good if you pick up ranged
powers as recommended below.

Power. Selection

Unlike the other two builds, you can protect allies
without ever returning to the side of the marked
enemy attacking them, so you can afford to pick up
more ranged attacks than a typical swordmage. I like
lightning lure as your first at-will choice; other good
ranged options include falcon’s mark (useful even with¬
out the aegis of ensnarement rider), lingering lightning,
dimensional vortex, and hell’s own blade.

Don’t overdo it; you still need a good array of
melee or close burst attack powers for when you’re
face to face with an enemy. Since you can’t follow
your foe as easily as other swordmages, look for
powers that immobilize, slow, or otherwise hinder
movement: foesnare, sloth strike, and shadow snake lunge
are good choices. If you wield a longsword or scimi¬
tar, plenty of implement powers deal comparable
damage to the weapon powers at the same level.

Plenty of powers utilize your high Constitution
score, from the humble utility powers channeling shield
and unicorn’s touch to the more deadly chilling blow and
dimensional vortex.

PLAYING ACROSS BUILDS

It’s surprisingly easy to build an effective
assault-style swordmage that favors one-handed
weapons and close burst implement powers, as
well as an ensnaring or shielding swordmage that
uses two-handed weapons and melee powers
to devastating effect. Don’t be afraid to explore
options that appear “out of build” for your char-
acter-as long as you’re having fun and keeping
your allies alive, you’re doing it right.

Abilities

Your highest ability score should always be Intelli¬
gence, with either Strength or Constitution coming in
a close second. Depending on your other preferences,
your third-best ability score should usually either be
the other secondary score (Strength or Constitution)
or one of the abilities that improves your Will. The
arrays below favor Charisma over Wisdom because of
the swordmages Charisma-based class skills, but you
can reverse those if you prefer a good Wisdom score.

The ability score arrays presented below don’t
include racial adjustments. If your race doesn’t have
an Intelligence bonus, strongly consider improving
your starting Intelligence score to 18 and reducing
one or more scores accordingly.

ASSAULT SWORDMAGE ARRAY

RACE AND BUILD

Race

Recommended Buil

Changeling

Shielding Swordmage

Deva

Ensnaring Swordmage

Dragonborn

Assault Swordmage

Drow

Ensnaring Swordmage

Dwarf

Ensnaring Swordmage

Eladrin

Assault Swordmage

Elf

Assault Swordmage

Genasi

Assault Swordmage

Githzerai

Ensnaring Swordmage

Gnoll

Shielding Swordmage

Gnome

Shielding Swordmage

Goliath

Assault Swordmage

Half-Elf

Ensnaring Swordmage

Half-Ore

Assault Swordmage

Halfling

Shielding Swordmage

Human

Ensnaring Swordmage

Kalashtar

Shielding Swordmage

Longtooth Shifter

Assault Swordmage

Minotaur

Assault Swordmage

Razorclaw Shifter

Ensnaring Swordmage

Revenant

Shielding Swordmage

Shadar-Kai

Ensnaring Swordmage

Tiefling

Ensnaring Swordmage

Warforged

Ensnaring Swordmage

ENSNARING SWORDMAGE ARRAY

SHIELDING SWORDMAGE ARRAY

SWORDMAGE ESSENTIALS: ART OE THE SWORD

RACE

The swordmage thrives on a high Intelligence score,
but racial bonuses to Strength and/or Constitution
are also valuable. The table on the previous page
recommends a build choice for each race based
on ability score adjustments as well as racial traits
and powers. Of course, you should always take into
account your own play preferences when choosing a
build—there’s no point in picking a “recommended”
build if that’s not the character you’d enjoy the most.

SWORDMAGE FEATS

Heroic Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
any level who meets the prerequisites.

Aegis Accuracy

Prerequisite: Swordmage
Benefit: If a target marked by your Swordmage
Aegis makes an attack and doesn’t include you as a
target, you gain a +1 bonus to attack rolls against the
marked creature until the end of your next turn.

Aegis Vitality

Prerequisite: Swordmage
Benefit: Whenever a creature marked by your
Swordmage Aegis makes an attack that does not
include you as a target, you gain 3 temporary hit
points.

Increase the temporary hit points to 5 at 11th
level, and to 8 at 21st level.

Extended Teleportation

Prerequisite: Swordmage
Benefit: Whenever you teleport with a sword¬
mage or swordmage paragon path power, add 1 to the
distance you can teleport.

Vigor oe the Blade Adept

Prerequisite: Swordmage
Benefit: While in a swordmage or swordmage
paragon path stance, add your Strength modifier to
your healing surge value.

Paragon Tier Teats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
11th level or higher who meets the prerequisites.

Deadly Immobilization

Prerequisite: 11th level, swordmage
Benefit: Whenever you slow or immobilize a
target with a swordmage or swordmage paragon path
attack power, that power deals extra damage equal to
your Constitution modifier.

Timely Teleport

Prerequisite: 11th level, swordmage
Benefit: When you use second wind, you can also
teleport a number of squares equal to your Intelli¬
gence modifier as a free action.

SWORDMAGE SPELLS

Blades of Swordmage Attack 3

Fiery Wrath

The ambient magic of your unsuccessful attack manifests as
countless blades of fire that lash out at nearby enemies.

Encounter ♦ Arcane, Fire, Implement
Free Action Close burst 1

Trigger: You used a swordmage at-will attack power this turn
and did not hit any target with it
Target: Each enemy in burst
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex
Hit: 2d6 + Intelligence modifier fire damage.

Echoes of Swordmage Attack 7

Sword Magic

You tap into the magic of your failed strike to unleash a
mighty- barrage of thunder.

Encounter ♦ Arcane, Implement, Thunder
Free Action Close blast 3

Trigger: You used a swordmage at-will attack power this turn
and did not hit any target with it
Target: Each enemy in blast
Attack: Intelligence vs. Fortitude

Hit: Hit: 2d6 + Intelligence modifier thunder damage, and the
target is marked by your swordmage aegis until the end
of your next turn. Marking the target in this way does not
remove the mark on another target affected by your sword¬
mage aegis.

Encounter Spells

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

SWORDMAGE ESSENTIALS: ART OE THE SWORD

Daily Spells

You steal the speed of your enemy and use
dimensions in pursuit.

it to leap across the

Daily ♦ Arcane, Implement, Psychic
Standard Action Ranged 5

Target: One creature
Attack: Intelligence vs. Will

Hit: 2d8 + Intelligence modifier psychic damage, and the tar¬
get is immobilized (save ends).

Aftereffect: The target is slowed (save ends).

Miss: Half damage, and the target is slowed (save ends).
Effect: Each time the target rolls a saving throw against this
power, you can teleport 5 squares as a free action. You
must end this teleportation adjacent to the target.

Dimensional Echoes Sword mage Attack 9

As you strike, you create an arcane bond between yourself and
your foe, allowing you to slip either of you between narrow
gaps between the worlds.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Force, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Attack: Intelligence vs. Fortitude

Hit: 2[W] + Intelligence modifier force damage.

Miss: Half damage.

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, you can teleport yourself
or the target of this power 1 square as a move action.

Utility Spells

Price of Ensnarement Swordmage Utility 2

Your attacks punish those who cannot escape your reach.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Stance
Minor Action Personal

Effect: Until the stance ends, you gain a +2 power bonus to
damage rolls against slowed or immobilized targets.

Aegis of Ensnarement: You also gain a +1 power bonus to
attack rolls against slowed or immobilized targets.

Nimbus of Shielding Swordmage Utility 6

You extend a magical ward around nearby allies.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Stance
Minor Action Personal

Effect: Until the stance ends, your allies gain a +1 power bonus
to AC while adjacent to you.

Aegis of Shielding: Allies instead gain a +1 power bonus to
all defenses while adjacent to you.

Armor of Assault Swordmage Utility 10

The magic of your vicious attacks temporarily protects you
from harm.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Stance
Minor Action Personal

Effect: Until the stance ends, when you hit with a melee weap¬
on attack you gain a +1 power bonus to all defenses until
the start of your next turn.

Aegis of Assault: Increase the power bonus to +2.

Andy Collins co-designed the 4th Edition Dungeons &
Dragons game, and works for Wizards of the Coast as the
Manager of Development and Editing for RPG R&D. His
credits stretch back a decade and include Magic Item Com¬
pendium, Draconomicon, Unearthed Arcana, and the Epic Level
Handbook.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Familiar Power

By Arthur Wright

Illustrations by Jorge Lacera

Akara pushed the door open slowly, her senses straining for any sign of arcane wards or other potent traps. Sensing nothing
untoward, she lifted her robe with one hand, the other, holding her wand, extended ahead warily. Light from her cantrip
bathed the room in gentle, steady light, and her pulse began to quicken. Sensing her excitement, her dragonling Ergo flut¬
tered his wings and chirped softly.

“This is it,” she told him. “CweH’s study! At last!”

Books lined the walls, from the floor to the ceiling. A long, carved wooden table-darkwood, she recognized, dominated
the center of the room. A smaller writing table sat beyond it, facing the door. The padded chair behind lay on its side, over¬
turned. A few knick knacks and writing implements rested on the desk, undisturbed now for decades. And centered on the
desk was a single open tome bound in gold-embossed red leather. Dust mantled everything in the chamber-thick and gray, it
muted the light from Akara s spell.

Eagerly, but still with caution, she approached the desk and moved around it to better see the book. Her breath caught in
her throat at the thought of all the knowledge it must contain- Cwell’s lost secrets . . . hers!

She leanedforward eagerly, and as she did, she saw that this tome was one of many similar books on the shelf near to
hand. She righted the chair behind the task, absently brushing the dust from it as she did so, her eyes never leaving the open
page. And then she settled in. Ergo, his tail coiled about her neck comfortably, shifted slightly as the two of them bent their
heads together over Cwell’s tome . . .

Centuries ago, an elf wizard by the name of Cwell
created spells that she used in conjunction with her
familiar, a dragonling named Cava. Enamored of her
friend and companion, she recognized that the link
between familiar and master was one that could be
used in unique ways. She began work on a treatise
that she never greatly publicized-it focused on spells
and techniques that allowed arcane casters to tap
new reservoirs of power through this connection to
the familiar. In addition to her tome’s use as a spell-
book, her work included notes and instructions on

how to communicate and relate to a familiar on a dif¬
ferent level than most wizards did at that time.

Hundreds of years passed, and Cwell continued to
grow in power, and she continued to add to her spell-
book. She took on apprentices from time to time over
her career. Many were not wizards at all, but those
who practiced other arcane disciplines. They sought
Cwell because she had arcane insights that few of her
peers possessed-insights that were accessible to any
who tapped the arcane power source.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Familiar Power

She taught many of her students her theories on
the nature of familiars. One such pupil was a sorcerer
named Magnus. To Cwell, he fit the mold of all sor-
cerers-wild, unpredictable, and obsessed with power.
She taught him anyway, hoping that she could shape
his path in some way. The sorcerer took to her theo¬
ries easily, although he proved unwilling to master
her specific spells. But he recognized the wisdom of
Cwell’s teachings. After spending several years with
her, he left to make his own way in the world—and to
spread Cwell’s theories to others willing to learn.

Throughout her life, Cwell continued to teach.

As she grew older, she focused more and more of
her time trying to understand and improve the link
between master and familiar. She created many
disciples of these theories in her later years, but few
enough felt the urge to share the power that her ideas
were never widely known or understood. Cwell was
also an open teacher. Her students occasionally sur¬
prised her with new insights of their own, which she
happily incorporated in her work and recorded in her
books of magic.

Eventually, Cwell’s last student left her, and she
decided that the time had come for her to seek new
experiences of her own. Taking only her favorite
spellbook and Cava, she departed the mortal realm,
and has not been seen since. Her tower and workshop
were left unattended, and eventually, knowledge of
their existence passed from the world.

Enough of her students took up her mantle that
Cwell’s ideas have proliferated. This modest number
of her disciples continued to teach the philosophy
that familiars should be treated with respect, not as
slaves, and that only then could the power between
the two become fully realized. Many times, these
former students would record their own new spells

or theories, and circulate these books along with
portions of Cwell’s own research. These books, while
each unique, offer the reader a basic education in the
principles of complete familiar binding, although the
rest of the contents might differ. In the present day,
hundreds of different such tomes exist.

Cwell’s followers came to refer to her theories as
“Cavalian” magic, after their master’s familiar. Those
arcane wielders that adhere the closest to the teach¬
ings within the book also use dragonlings as their
familiars. The new uses of familiars spread to non¬
practitioners, as well. For a brief time at the height
of Cwell’s popularity, merchants began to capture
and sell what they called “Cavalian dragons” as pets.
These small flying lizards were not actual dragonling
familiars-since they weren’t spirits. This did not
seem to stop people from buying them. They became
popular pets for a time, since many thought them
good luck.

The teachings of Cwell have since dimmed in pop¬
ularity, although the books based on them have been
circulated across the world and beyond. Some who
find them dream of finding Cwell’s original home
and to unearth still more of her secrets and research.

As for Magnus, he too continued to teach—pri¬
marily sorcerers, but others as well. He showed his
own students how to further shape and modify their
magic with the aid of their familiars. He also devel¬
oped his own new spells, although those are best left
for another time...

WIZARD POWERS

When “Active Familiar” appears as a header in a
power description, the associated entry describes an
additional effect that applies if you have a familiar in
the active state.

Level 1 Encounter Spells

1 Conduit of tee

Wizard Attack 1 1

You turn your enemy into a conduit l
Elemental Chaos.

to an ice storm from the

Encounter ♦ Arcane, Cold, Implement, Zone
Standard Action Ranged 10

Target: One creature
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex

Hit: 2d8 + Intelligence modifier cold damage, and you create
a zone of sudden cold in a burst 2 centered on the target
until the end of your next turn. The zone moves with the
target. The zone is difficult terrain, and any enemy that
ends its turn in the zone takes 5 cold damage.

Active Familiar: While your familiar is in the zone, it knocks
prone any enemy that ends its turn in the zone.

Level 2 Utility Spells

1 Familiar Harrier

Wizard Utility 2 1

You send your familiar in t

o keep your opponent off balance.

At-Will ♦ Arcane, Teleportation
Move Action

Effect: Teleport your familiar 10 squares, and until the end of
your next turn your familiar can flank with you or your al¬
lies. When an attack hits a creature flanked by the familiar,
that creature cannot shift until the end of its next turn.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Familiar Power

Level 3 Encounter Spells Level 10 Utility Spells

Level 16 Utility Spells

Melting Pool Wizard Attack 3

You create an extradimensional pool of acid beneath your
enemies’feet.

Encounter ♦ Acid, Arcane, Implement

Standard Action Area burst 2 within 10

Target: Each creature in burst

Attack: Intelligence vs. Fortitude

Hit: 1 d8 + Intelligence modifier acid damage.

Active Familiar: Any enemy hit by this attack must spend an
extra square of movement to leave its square while within
3 squares of your familiar until the end of your next turn.

niuimwiM

You assume the shape of a creature that resembles your
familiar.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Polymorph
Minor Action Personal

Effect: You assume a form identical to your familiar until the
end of the encounter and, for the same duration, can
change back or forth between this and your natural form
as a minor action. In this form, you gain the movement
modes, speed, and special senses of your familiar but can¬
not make attacks.

Level 6 Utility Spells

Familiar’s Call Wizard Utility 6

You teleport yourself to where your familiar is.

Encounter ♦ Arcane, Teleportation
Move Action Personal

Effect: You teleport up to 20 squares to the square occupied by
your familiar and your familiar enters passive mode.

Level 7 Encounter Spells

You reptdseyour enemies with an expending sphere of force.

Encounter ♦ Arcane, Force, Implement
Standard Action Close burst 3

Active Familiar: You can center this burst on your familiar
instead of on you.

Target: Each enemy in burst
Attack: Intelligence vs. Fortitude

Hit: 2d4 + Intelligence modifier force damage, and you push
the target to a space outside the burst.

Level 13 Encounter Spells

Arcane Chastisement Wizard Attack 13

Your retributive strike more than teaches the enemy not to
harm you, it compels it.

Encounter ♦ Arcane, Charm, Implement, Psychic
Immediate Reaction Ranged 10

Trigger: An enemy hits you or an ally
Target: One creature
Attack: Intelligence vs. Will

Hit: 2d8 + Intelligence modifier psychic damage, and the tar¬
get cannot attack the creature it targeted with the trigger¬
ing attack until the end of your next turn.

Active Familiar: Until the end of your next turn, the target
cannot attack your familiar and takes a -2 penalty to attack
rolls against creatures adjacent to your familiar.

Circle of Protection Wizard Utility 16

You weave a circle of protective runes that guard your allies
and can draw power from your familiar for greater strength.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Implement, Zone
Standard Action Area burst 1 within 20

squares

Effect: The burst creatures a zone that lasts until the end of
your next turn. While within the zone, you and your allies
have resistance to all damage equal to your Intelligence
modifier. Enemies must spend 2 extra squares of
movement to enter the zone. When you use this power,
make the following attack.

Target: Each enemy in burst
Attack: Intelligence vs. Fortitude

Active Familiar: You gain a +4 power bonus to the attack
roll if your familiar is in the burst.

Hit: You push the target 2 squares away from the burst’s origin
square to a square outside the zone. You cannot push the
target into hindering terrain.

Sustain Minor: The zone persists.

Level 17 Encounter Spells

Thunderous Wizard Attack 17

Transformation

You translate your enemy’s physicalform into a monstrous
peal of thunder before it reincorporates nearby.

Encounter ♦ Arcane, Teleportation, Thunder, Implement
Standard Action Ranged 10
Primary Target: One creature
Primary Attack: Intelligence vs. Fortitude
Hit: 2d8 + Intelligence modifier thunder damage, and any
creature within 2 squares of the target takes 10 thunder
damage and falls prone. Then you teleport the target 5
squares.

2009 | DRAGON 382

Active Familiar: You can teleport the target up to 20 squares
to a space within 3 squares of your familiar.

Level 27 Encounter Spells

Level 22 Utility Spells

Dire Familiar
Incantation

Wizard Utility 22

Your familiar expands in size t

apidly becoming a threat to

your enemies.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Polymorph

Minor Action

Ranged 10

Requirement: Your familiar must be in a square it could
occupy as a Medium creature.

Target: Your familiar

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, your familiar becomes
a Medium creature, gains a hit point total equal to your
bloodied value, and can flank with you or your allies. While
in this form, when any enemy adjacent to the familiar is hit
by an attack, you may use a free action to have the familiar
knock that enemy prone, push it 1 square, or shift 1 square
and slides that enemy into the square the familiar left.

Mind-Numbing Wizard Attack 27

Presence

You surround your foe with afield that dampens thought.

Encounter ♦ Arcane, Implement, Psychic, Zone
Standard Action Ranged 20

Target: One creature
Attack: Intelligence vs. Will

Hit: 3d8 + Intelligence modifier psychic damage, and a burst 3
centered on the target becomes a zone of numbed thought
until the end of your next turn. This zone moves with the
target. Any enemy that ends its turn in the zone takes 10
psychic damage, and any enemy that enters or leaves the
zone becomes dazed until the end of your next turn.

Active Familiar: When an enemy takes damage from the
zone or becomes dazed by the zone, your familiar can shift
3 squares as a free action.

Magic Items eor Familiars

Familiar items are a subset of wondrous items that

Level 23 Encounter Spells

Crushing Necrotism Wizard Attack 23

You encase your foe in tightening necrotic energy, which
washes over its allies when the enemy struggles free.

Encounter ♦ Arcane, Implement, Necrotic
Standard Action Ranged 5

Target: One creature
Attack: Intelligence vs. Reflex

Hit: 3d6 + Intelligence modifier necrotic damage, and the
target is slowed and grants combat advantage until the
end of the target’s next turn. At the end of the target’s next
turn, any enemy within 2 squares of the target takes 10
necrotic damage and you push that enemy 2 squares from
the target.

Active Familiar: At the end of the target’s next turn, you also
push any enemy within 2 squares of your familiar 2 squares
from your familiar.

can be used only to enhance a familiar. A familiar is
treated as having a single item slot, which can be used
only to equip familiar items. Unless otherwise stated,
a familiar can’t normally carry or wield a magic item.

1 Lucky Charm

Level 12 1

Your familiar is blessed by good luck to get oi
situations.

ut of dangerous

Item Slot: Familiar 13,000 gp

Property: When an attack misses you or your familiar, your
familiar can shift 1 square as a free action.

of Protection Level 8

Your familiar is protected by the charm almost as if it has a
destiny of its own.

Item Slot: Familiar 3,400 gp

Power (Encounter) ♦ Immediate Interrupt. Trigger: An attack
hits your familiar. Effect: Your familiar gains a +4 power
bonus to AC and Reflex until the end of your next turn.

Familiar Power

Heroic Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
any level who meets the prerequisites.

Active Familiar [Eamiliar]

Prerequisite: Arcane Familiar feat

Benefit: When you take a move action, you can also

move your familiar its speed or shift it 1 square.

Cast Afar the Spirit [Eamiliar]

Prerequisite: Arcane Familiar feat

Benefit: When you switch your familiar into active

mode, you can teleport it up to 5 squares.

Persistent Spirit [Eamiliar]

Prerequisite: Arcane Familiar feat
Benefit: When your familiar is destroyed, an echo of
its spirit remains. Treat your familiar as in its active
state until the end of your next turn, at which time
the spirit fades away.

Swift Eamiliar [Familiar]

Prerequisite: Arcane Familiar feat
Benefit: You can switch your familiar between pas¬
sive mode and active mode with a free action on your
turn instead of a minor action. You can do so only
once per turn.

Paragon Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
11th level or higher who meets the prerequisites.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Familiar Power

Sight of the Familiar [Familiar]

Prerequisite: 11th level, Arcane Familiar feat
Benefit: While your familiar is in passive mode, you
can see through its eyes, benefiting from its special
senses. In addition, after you return your familiar to
passive mode from active mode, it can show you one
image it saw during that period in active mode.

Space-Bending Spirit [Familiar]

Prerequisite: 11th level, Arcane Familiar feat
Benefit: Your familiar gains teleport 2 as an addi¬
tional movement mode.

Rituals

Familiar Mount

Your familiar grows large enough to carry you to your
destination.

Level: 4 Component Cost: 25 gp
Category: Exploration Market Price: 175 gp
Time: 5 minutes Key Skill: Arcana (no check)
Duration: 12 hours

Your familiar grows to Large size and can accom¬
modate you as a rider, and it is in active mode for the
duration. You can end the ritual by returning the
familiar to passive mode with a minor action. If the
familiar takes damage equal to 5 + one-half your level
or more, it returns to its normal size and to passive

Familiars

Specter Familii

You have touched the Shadowfell and lived to speak of it. You
even brought back a souvenir.

Senses Darkvision
Speed Fly 6 (hover)

Constant Benefits

You gain a +4 bonus to monster knowledge checks to
identify undead creatures.

You gain resist 5 necrotic. If already have resist necrotic,
increase the resistance by 2.

Active Benefits

Incorporeal: The specter has phasing and does not provoke
opportunity attacks.

Undead: The specter is immune to necrotic damage.

Least Air Elemental

A wisp of air from the Elemental Chaos does your bidding on the
mortal plane.

Speed Fly 6 (hover)

Constant Benefits

You take half normal damage from falling.

Active Benefits

Elemental Servant: As a minor action, you cause the familiar
to pick up, move, or manipulate an unattended object
weighing 20 pounds or less and carry it up to 5 squares.

Tiny Gelatinous Cube

This palm-sized ooze tickles you with its weak acid.

Constant Benefits

You gain resist 5 acid. If you already have resist acid, increase
the resistance by 2.

Active Benefits

Cleaning: The familiar consumes nonliving organic objects that
it touches at a rate of 1 pound of material per round.
Transparent: The familiar is invisible.

Least Earth Elemental

A small creature made of earth and stone lumbers along as you
command.

Speed 2, Burrow 6
Constant Benefits

When an attack knocks you prone, you can make a saving
throw to avoid falling prone.

Active Benefits

Tremorsense: You and the least earth elemental can clearly
see creatures and objects in the same square as the least
earth elemental, even if they are invisible, obscured,
or outside line of effect, but they and the least earth
elemental must be in contact with the ground or the same
substance, such as water or a web.

About the Author

Arthur Wright is a 37-year-old father of three living in
upstate New York, and he is an avid gamer. When not playing
Lord of the Rings Online, he is playing 4th Edition Dungeons &
Dragons® and spending time with his family. He loves real¬
ity TV and wants to someday appear on the show Survivor.

2009 | DRAGON 382

More Toys for Assassins

By Mike Mearls

Illustration by Patrick McEvoy

The assassin character class rolled out in September,
and almost immediately we saw a call for more stuff.
“Feats for the shadar-kai!” cried the forums. “Where
are our ki focuses?” shouted the blogs.

Well, here they are. Normally, this sort of article
opens with a bit of flavor. Forget about that! Here are
some more toys for your assassin. Have fun!

Heroic Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
any level who meets the prerequisites.

Horns of the Shadow Reaper

Prerequisite: Minotaur, assassin, assassins shroud
power

Benefit: When you charge and use your goring
charge racial power you and target has at least one of
your assassin’s shrouds on it, you gain a +2 bonus to
your attack roll and, after resolving the attack, you
can shift half your speed as part of the charge.

Hunter in the Gloom

Prerequisite: Shadar-kai, assassin, shadow jaunt
racial power

Benefit: While you are insubstantial due to your
shadow jaunt power, any weapon attacks you make
against AC instead are made against the target’s Reflex.

Initiate ot Three Masks

Prerequisite: Changeling, assassin

Benefit: You can use a Stealth check in place of
Bluff with your changeling trick racial power. In addi¬
tion, if that check succeeds, the target cannot make
opportunity attacks against you until the end of your
next turn.

Maw oe the Hungry Killer

Prerequisite: Gnoll, assassin, assassin’s shroud
power

Benefit: When you reduce a creature that has
at least one of your shrouds on it to 0 hit points or
fewer, you gain temporary hit points equal to 5 + the
number of shrouds on the target. If you invoked your
shrouds on the attack that reduced the creature to 0
hit points, you can also teleport to a space adjacent to
your nearest ally within 10 squares.

Mind oe Elawless Sight

Prerequisite: Kalashtar, assassin, assassin’s shroud
power

Benefit: If a creature has at least one of your
shrouds on it, you ignore the -2 penalties for conceal¬
ment or cover on your attack rolls against that creature.

Keeper oe the Black Flame

Prerequisite: Drow, assassin, assassin’s shroud
power

Benefit: When you hit a target that has at least
one of your shrouds on it with your darkfire racial
power, the target is subject to an additional shroud.

Decer

Resolve oe the Iron Terminator

Prerequisite: Warforged, assassin, assassin’s
shroud power

Benefit: You gain resist to attacks from any crea¬
ture with your shrouds on it equal to the number of
shrouds on the creature.

Seeker oe the Devouring Dark

Prerequisite: Drow, assassin, assassin’s shroud
power

Benefit: When a creature with at least one of your
shrouds on it leaves the area of your cloud of darkness, it
takes damage from your shrouds as if you had hit it with
an attack, and your shrouds vanish from the target.

Paragon Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
11th level or higher who meets the prerequisites.

Eade into Shadow

Prerequisite: 11th level, assassin, shadow step
power

Benefit: When you become bloodied, you may use
your shadow step as an immediate reaction.

Grave Step

Prerequisite: 11th level, assassin, shadow step
power

Benefit: If you reduce a creature to 0 hit points
or fewer during your turn, you can use shadow step as
a minor action during that turn without needing to
begin or end the teleport adjacent to a creature.

Killer in the Crowd

Prerequisite: 11th level, assassin
Benefit: Your enemies do not grant cover to your
targets. You gain cover from your enemies.

Shadow’s Inexorable Grasp

Prerequisite: 11th level, assassin, assassins shroud
power

Benefit: When you are reduced to 0 or fewer hit
points, any creature within 10 squares of you with
at least one of your shrouds on it takes damage from
your assassin’s shrouds as if you had missed it with an
attack, and your shrouds vanish from the target.

Epic Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
21st level or higher who meets the prerequisites.

Soul in Shadow

Prerequisite: 21st level, assassin
Benefit: You gain concealment against all crea¬
tures that are 5 or more squares away from you.

Walker Through Shadows

Prerequisite: 21st level, assassin
Benefit: While you are insubstantial, you also
gain phasing.

Multiclass Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
any level who meets the prerequisites.

Shadow Initiate [Multiclass Assassin]

Prerequisite: Dex 13

More Toys for Assassins

Benefit: You gain training in the Stealth skill.
Twice per encounter, you can use the assassins shroud
power. In addition, you can wield assassin implements.

Acolyte of the Veit [Multiclass Assassin]

Prerequisite: Dex 13

Benefit: You gain training in the Acrobatics or Stealth
skill. Once per encounter, you can use the shadow step
power. In addition, you can wield assassin implements.

Ki Focus

A ki focus is an implement that certain classes use
as a focus for their inner magical energy, known as
their ki. A ki focus might take the form of a training
manual, a scroll of ancient secrets, or a blunt train¬
ing weapon. To use a ki focus, you must first attune
yourself to it. Some characters study their ki focus
to attune themselves to it. Others meditate with it or
wield it as they practice their fighting techniques.
Once you have attuned yourself to a ki focus, you
must either wear or hold it to use it as an implement.

When you attune yourself to a ki focus, you draw
on magic within it to shape your ki. This attunement
is temporary, and it fades away if you attune yourself
to a different ki focus or if you die. The ki focus that
you’re attuned to occupies your ki focus item slot.

To attune yourself to a ki focus, you must have the
item on your person during a short or an extended rest.
Whenever you take a rest, you can attune yourself to a
ki focus in your possession, but you can be attuned to
only one ki focus at a time. Also, only one creature at a
time can be attuned to a particular ki focus. Once you
attune yourself to a ki focus, no one else can attune to it
until you are no longer attuned to it.

If you can use a ki focus as an implement, you can
add its enhancement bonus to the attack rolls and the

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

More Toys for Assassins

damage rolls of implement powers from the class (and
its associated paragon paths) that allows you to use a
ki focus, and you can use its properties and powers.
Otherwise, you gain no benefit from a ki focus.

Being able to use a ki focus as an implement
means you can also use it with your weapon attacks.
You can add its enhancement bonus to the attack rolls
and the damage rolls of weapon attacks you make
using a weapon with which you’re proficient. How¬
ever, you must choose to use the enhancement bonus,
properties, and powers of the ki focus, rather than the
weapon you’re wielding, or vice versa. You can’t use
both when you use a power.

Emerald Flame Ki Focus Level 2+

A flickering, yellow flame dances within this green gem’s
facets, hinting at the magic that can be unleashed only by one
with the focus needed to study the flame’s secrets.

Lvl 2 +1 520 gp Lvl 17 +4 65,000 gp

Lvl 7 +2 2,600 gp Lvl 22 +5 325,000 gp

Lvl 12 +3 13,000 gp Lvl 27 +6 1,625,000 gp

Implement (Ki Focus)

Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +1 d6 damage per plus

Power (Daily ♦ Fire): Immediate Reaction. Trigger: You are hit
by an attack. Effect: Any enemy adjacent to you takes 5 fire
damage. Then you shift 2 squares.

Level 12 or 17:10 fire damage.

Level 22 or 27 :15 fire damage.

Final Sleep Ki Focus Level 3+

This small manual’s plain, black leather covers contain illus¬
trations of the vulnerable points on a variety of creatures. The
contents change each time you open the book, and as you flip
from page to page you never seem to reach the book’s end.

Lvl 3 +1 680 gp Lvl 18 +4 85,000 gp

Lvl 8 +2 3,400 gp Lvl 23 +5 425,000 gp

Lvl 13 +3 17,000 gp Lvl 28 +6 2,125,000 gp

Implement (Ki Focus)

Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +1 dl 2 damage per plus

Property: Whenever you reduce an enemy to 0 hit points or
fewer, you can shift 1 square as a free action.

Hawk’s Talon Ki Focus Level 4+

This small, blunt dagger is made of a soft, malleable metal.

It shivers and flutters in your grasp, like a captive bird. When
you practice with it, you unlock the secret of the swooping
hawk’s tactics.

Lvl 4 +1 840 gp Lvl 19 +4 105,000 gp

Lvl 9 +2 4,200 gp Lvl 24 +5 525,000 gp

Lvl 14 +3 21,000 gp Lvl 29 +6 2,625,000 gp

Implement (Ki Focus)

Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +1 d8 damage per plus

Property: Whenever you charge, you gain a bonus to any
Athletics checks made to jump as part of that charge equal
to 2 + this item’s enhancement bonus.

Power (Daily): Standard Action. Charge an enemy. Your move¬
ment during this charge does not provoke opportunity
attacks, and you can use an at-will attack power that will
target only one enemy in place of a melee basic attack at
the end of the charge.

Iron Body Ki Focus Level 5+

This set of weights consists of rune-scribed chunks of lead
laced together with leather straps. When tied to your feet and
hands, you can perform the exercises needed to master the iron

body technique.

Lvl 5 +1 1,000 gp Lvl 20

125,000 gp

Lvl 10 +2 5,000 gp Lvl 25

625,000 gp

Lvl 15 +3 2 5,000 gp Lvl 30

Implement (Ki Focus)

3,12 5,000 gp

Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +1 dl 0 damage per plus

Property: If you hit an opponent with an attack using this
ki focus, you gain resistance to all of that target's attacks
equal to 2 + this implement’s enhancement bonus until the
end of your next turn.

Magic Ki Focus

Level 1 +

This ancient scroll looks as

if it is about t

o crumble to dust, but

the magic within its text keeps its form intact. By studying the
writings, you focus your ki into a potent weapon.

Lvl 1 +1 360 gp

Lvl 16

45,000 gp

Lvl 6 +2 1,800 gp

Lvl 21

225,000 gp

Lvl 11 +3 9,000 gp

Lvl 26

1,125,000 gp

Implement (Ki Focus)

Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage

: rolls

Critical: +1 d6 damage per plus

Rain of Hammers Ki Focus Level 3+

This small, wooden box holds a pair of leaden hammers and
a tiny drum. By beating the hammers against the drum, you
sharpen your ki, accustoming your arms to deliver a steady
stream of powerful attacks.

Lvl 3 +1 680 gp Lvl 18 +4 85,000 gp

Lvl 8 +2 3,400 gp Lvl 23 +5 425,000 gp

Lvl 13 +3 17,000 gp Lvl 28 +6 2,125,000 gp

Implement (Ki Focus)

Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +1 d6 damage per plus

Property: Whenever you reduce an enemy to 0 hit points or
fewer, one enemy adjacent to you takes damage equal to 2
+ this focus’s enhancement bonus damage.

Power (Daily): Minor Action. Make an at-will attack against an
enemy that you already hit with an attack during this turn.

About the Author

Mike Mearls is the Lead Designer for the Dungeons &
Dragons® roleplaying game. His recent credits include HI:
Keep on the Shadowfell and Player’s Handbook’ 1 2.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Avenger Essentials.-

Divine Retribution

By Rodney Thompson

Illustrations by Eric Belisle

“My sword is an instrument of the Raven Queens will. I
am her reaper- her will given flesh. What I do, I do at
the whim of powers greater than I can understand. All are
eventually called into the Raven Queens embrace; some
simply require my blade to speed them along.”

-From the journal of Vargas, the White Assassin

The gods have many devotees, from commoners to
the paladins who spread their holy word with sword
and shield. Yet where many divine heroes serve their
gods as leaders, healers, military commanders, and
the masterminds of great plans, few are as single-
minded and zealous in the pursuit of their faith as the
avenger. An avenger’s idiom is simple: Defeat enemies
of the faith and punish them for their transgressions.

An avenger is nothing if not focused, and a char¬
acter’s mechanics and story are built on this focus.

As an adventurer, the avenger is one of the most
story-driven classes, and although each avenger
might differ in his or her particular motivations, most
avengers are compelled by their faith, as well as their
interactions with other characters in the world.

;r 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Avenger Essentials.- Divine Retribution

THE BASICS

“My words and deeds are molded by the will of my goddess.
The oaths I swear-those that declare the enemies of my
faith-bind my foes with the power of the Raven Queen.
Woe unto those who hear the words of my oath, for their
time to fall into the arms of my god is nigh.”

-From the journal of Vargas, the White Assassin

The avenger, as the divine striker, is tasked with find¬
ing enemies, isolating them from their allies, and
then meting out swift punishment for being an enemy
of the faith. Unlike other strikers, the avenger does

DIVINE ASSASSINS

In many ways, the avenger is the spiritual suc¬
cessor to the holy slayer from 2nd Edition’s
Al-Qadim® campaign setting. As in Al-Qadim,
the avenger is a servant of divine powers whose
primary role is to slay those who are enemies of
the faith. For some avengers, this means becom¬
ing something of a “divine assassin” who works
not to spread the word of his or her patron deity,
but to ruthlessly eliminate all who oppose his or
her views. One way in which this “divine assas¬
sin” theme can manifest itself is in skill selection.

As with other such characters, skills such as
Acrobatics, Athletics, and Stealth can be of great
value to avengers. Since the avenger needs to
isolate its enemies to be most successful, waiting
until a target is alone before striking is a great
tactic. Skills such as those noted above help an
avenger sneak into an enemy’s home, shadow an
enemy until it is alone, or find a good spot from
which to launch an ambush.

not fulfill its role through damage-boosting means,
but rather through increased accuracy and occasional
damage spikes. To put it in terms more in line with
the world of Dungeons & Dragons®, an avenger’s
deadliness lies not in strength of arms, but rather in
the divine guidance that causes his or her weapons to
strike true. The patron deity of an avenger alters fate
in such a way that the avenger’s attacks against sworn
enemies strike vital areas, slipping through layers of
protection to inflict grievous wounds against all odds.
Many view an avenger as having the guiding hand of
his or her deity behind every attack.

Oath of Enmity

The core of the avenger class is its oath of enmity
power. When an avenger uses this power, he or she
designates a single target as the focus of his or her
attacks. Much like a ranger or a warlock, this power
serves as target designation, but, unlike those other
classes, an avenger absolutely must deal with the
target of their oath of enmity to the exclusion of all
others to reach his or her expected potential as a
striker. This leads to avengers being single-minded in
their pursuit of any enemy. The other restriction on
oath of enmity requires the avenger to move the target
away from its allies, since the power does not work
when other enemies are adjacent to the enemy. This
enforces not only a particular combat style, but also
helps reinforce the avenger’s idiom: Seek out enemies,
wait until they are vulnerable, and then strike and
continue to do so until the enemy is dead (or other¬
wise subdued).

Accuracy: Thanks to oath of enmity, the avenger
reaches his or her expected striker damage poten¬
tial through accuracy, not a raw damage boost. This
ensures that, over the course of an encounter, the

total damage output is close to that of other striker
classes thanks to the avenger hitting on rounds when
other strikers miss. With this in mind, this accuracy
boost provides you with a bit more freedom in build¬
ing your character. Feats such as Weapon Expertise,
which for many classes can make a big difference in
their effectiveness, aren’t as essential for an avenger
thanks to the inherent boost in accuracy provided by
oath of enmity. Instead, you can use those feat slots for
things such as damage-boosting feats, feats that trig¬
ger effects on critical hits, or feats to flesh out your
character’s skills and personality.

Critical Hits: Likewise, an avenger is typically
going to score a critical hit twice as often as other
characters. This means that feats, items, and other
game elements that trigger off scoring a critical hit
are twice as valuable, and it means that an avenger’s
damage output can spike up twice as often. To take
advantage of this, consider hunting or crafting
weapons with the high crit quality and the vicious
enchantment, or the bloodthirsty enchantment (Adven¬
turer’s Vault, page 65). The latter has the advantage of
also providing a damage boost against bloodied ene¬
mies, and as a striker you should try to take bloodied
enemies down as quickly as possible. At paragon tier,
taking the Devastating Critical feat means that, on a
crit, you not only maximize damage but add large crit
dice, two high crit dice, and a dlO ... and your bonus
crit damage only gets bigger from there.

Channel Divinity

For the avenger, the Channel Divinity options for
the class fall strictly into the offense category. They
are going to be used primarily to deal damage to an
opponent-and one is applicable only when fighting

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Avenger Essentials.- Divine Retribution

WHEN NOT TO SWEAR
YOUR OATH

Though the core of the avenger’s effectiveness
is the oath of enmity, sometimes you don’t want
to use the power right away. The power has two
big drawbacks you need to take into account:
You can have no other enemies adjacent to you,
and you can have your oath of enmity on only one
enemy at a time. In fights with lots of enemies,
you need to pick your oath of enmity target care¬
fully, because if your oath of enmity target’s allies
suddenly swarm you, it might take you a while
before you can take advantage of your oath of
enmity. Similarly, you should be cautious about
putting your oath of enmity target on enemies
that show a lot of mobility or the ability to tele¬
port. Though an avenger can punish a foe for
moving away, once your oath of enmity target
has escaped your grasp, you could end up stuck
without your core mechanic. If your avenger
doesn’t have a lot of abilities that immobilize or
slow targets, consider taking the refocus enmity
utility power at 2nd level. The power makes a
great safety net for when your oath of enmity
target escapes you and keeps you from being at
reduced effectiveness.

undead, meaning that, in most encounters, you’re
probably going to be using divine guidance.

One of the best parts of divine guidance is that, for a
single attack roll, one of your allies can feel how good
it is to be you. As your ally launches his or her attack,
your deity favors that ally with same accuracy boon
you normally receive. Typically, you want to save your
divine guidance for when one of your allies is going
to do something significant, whether that means

immobilizing a monster as it tries to escape or putting
out big damage when using a daily power. Addition¬
ally, when one of your allies spends an action point
to make an extra attack and misses, consider using
divine guidance then so that he or she hasn’t wasted an
action point on a miss.

If you are fighting undead, abjure undead can be
an extremely nasty power. Its damage output is above
that of most daily powers at its level, and it is a great
way to pull an enemy over to you while you stay safely
off to one side. The abjure undead power makes a great
opening salvo against an undead creature that you
make your oath of enmity target, since it allows you to
move into a position from which other enemies have a
hard time reaching you. Then you pull your target to
you, ensuring that on subsequent rounds you can take
advantage of your oath of enmity. If you have an action
point to spend and are fighting undead, you should
consider moving to an isolated position as a move
action, firing off abjure undead to pull your target to
you as a standard action, putting your oath of enmity
on the target as a minor action, and then using the
action point to gain another standard action to attack.

Raven Queen’s Blessing: If you’re a follower of
the Raven Queen, consider taking the Raven Queen’s
Blessing feat for an extra Channel Divinity option.
Though it does require you to reduce a target to 0
hit points, your role as a striker (and slightly more
frequent damage spikes from critical hits) means that
you’ll have more opportunities to use the power than
a cleric, paladin, or invoker. It’s a great choice for
avengers looking to add a little more healing to their
adventuring party.

CHOOSING YOUR DEITY

Though you don’t have many restrictions to your
character based on the deity you serve, this
choice has a big effect on who your character is.
Usually, you’ll pick a god who fits with how you
want to roleplay your character.

On the rules side of things, you can take a look
at the Channel Divinity feats for the different
deities, and at the domains from Divine Power
you can access as a follower of each deity. These
allow you to have a little more of the deity’s
theme come through in your powers.

Avengers oe ...

Since the avenger is such an aggressive and focused
divine class, deciding what drives and motivates your
avenger can almost certainly depend on the edicts
of your faith. Below are some suggestions for what
might motivate an avenger devoted to the various
core deities.

Avandra: You are the silent protector of travelers,
exacting Avandra’s vengeance upon those who would
prey upon explorers, traders, and other adventur¬
ers. You cannot abide tyrants, slavers, or those who
impede the journey, and Avandra has granted you
her blessing in meting out justice against anyone that
stands in the way of progress.

Bahamut: Above all else you value justice, and
Bahamut’s will guides your blade to bring justice to
those who deserve it. You ensure that anyone that
harms or oppresses others reaps the fruit of the
wicked deeds they do, confident that the Platinum
Dragon wants ill works made right.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Corellon: You are a sworn enemy of the follow¬
ers of Lolth, and you know that many who do evil are
doing so in her name-whether they know it or not.
Though your true enmity is for the Spider Queen,
you believe that all who serve evil are aiding Lolth, if
sometimes indirectly, and must be stopped-by vio¬
lent means, if necessary.

Erathis: For you, those who sow chaos in the
middle of an organized, peaceful society are threat¬
ening to tear down civilization. You seek out and
dispense punishment to those who would permit the
chaos of the wilds to overthrow civilization by weak¬
ening its defenders.

Ioun: Anyone who would destroy knowledge,
whether through carelessness or in the hopes of sup¬
pressing it, is an enemy of your faith. Worse yet are
those who would keep secret knowledge for them¬
selves while leaving others in ignorance; rulers that
forbid their followers to learn to read and write, for
example, are begging to be brought low by your blade.

Kord: As the servant of the Lord of Battle, you
seek out those who make worthy foes and test their
mettle. However, those who are wanton with their
strength must be stopped, for although prowess is to
be respected it must be used with honor.

Melora: Those who defile the natural world
declare themselves your enemy with every act. You
are dedicated to protecting the world from both
wanton defilers as well as creatures that should not
be. You set the world right by dispensing the will of
Melora.

Moradin: For you, Moradin’s creed is to protect
your friends, family, and allies with no mercy for
those who would threaten them. Although revenge
for wrongdoing is acceptable, you are compelled

Avenger Essentials.- Divine Retribution

to preemptively rid the world of those who might
become a threat to your people in the future.

Pelor: As a servant of Pelor, you know that true
justice comes from liberating the oppressed and
seeing to it that those who would make others suffer
do not live long enough to continue their evil ways.
You are the guard that stands against the rise of evil,
and you must slay those who spread darkness before
they can harm others.

The Raven Queen: You are Death’s reaper—the
hand of the Raven Queen. By her grace and your
will, those who seek to evade the natural order of
things—such as those who seek vile undeath—must be
ushered on to the Raven Queen’s embrace. Death is
the domain of your mistress; if it comes, it is her will
that your blade brings it.

Sehanine: You are sworn to prevent those who
hurl themselves zealously after a cause, no matter
how good, from bringing harm to the world. Though
you declare yourself devoted, zealots and tyrants end
up rending the world in their struggles, no matter
how well intentioned. It is your duty to stop those
atrocities from occurring before they can begin.

AVENGER BUILDS

For the avenger, much of your build support is built
right into your powers. Though each build has a
class feature that addresses an aspect of being an
avenger of that build, for the most part your build is
most apparent when using powers that feature rider
mechanics for your build.

An avenger’s build choice affects the second¬
ary ability score that you use, and likely most of
your power choices. The main choices you face are
described here.

♦ Weapon or Holy Symbol: Though primarily a
concern in power choice, the build you choose
should also reflect well on whether you choose
to take any implement powers. The commanding
avenger and the isolating avenger both have class
features that trigger off you being in the middle
of melee (likely making a lot of weapon attacks);
alternatively, the pursuing avenger doesn’t mind
if his or her oath of enmity target escapes a bit,
which makes using implement powers from
range more viable.

♦ Isolation: As mentioned above, one of your
biggest choices in selecting a build is to decide
whether you want to isolate your enemies (both
from their allies and yours) or whether you
want to wade into the thick of combat. Both the
commanding and isolating avengers like being
around other allies and enemies (respectively),
whereas the pursuing avenger is going to want to
pull his or her enemies off to one side and keep
them there.

♦ Damage or Utility: Two of the avenger’s builds
provide class features that boost damage: the
commanding avenger and the isolating avenger.
The pursuing avenger’s class feature adds utility
but does not add to your damage.

♦ Skills: Since the avenger’s secondary ability
score is tied to its class feature, your aptitude with
skills likely also hangs on your build choice. If
you want to make the best use of Dexterity-based
skills, such as Acrobatics, Stealth, or (by spend¬
ing a feat) Thievery, then the pursuing avenger

is for you. Otherwise, the other two builds most
benefit Intelligence-based skills such as Religion
or (through spending feats) skills such as Arcana
and History.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Avenger Essentials.- Divine Retribution

Commanding Avenger

“Move forward! Kord has given us his blessing; let us not
waste it.”

—Arvando Terasi, avenger of Kord

Introduced in Divine Power, the commanding avenger
benefits most from having allies surrounding his or
her enemies. As with most avengers, the command¬
ing avenger spends the bulk of his or her time in
melee, but it is to his or her advantage to maneuver
enemies adjacent to multiple allies. As a result, the
commanding avenger ends up being a bit more like a
leader than other avengers, at least in the sense that
he or she provides target designation by simple virtue
of putting an oath of enmity on a target.

Parties with a commanding avenger should focus
their melee attacks on the target of the avenger’s oath
of enmity. The commanding avenger also enjoys the
close proximity of a defender, which any striker can
attest is frequently a good thing. Similarly, a com¬
manding avenger is a rogue’s best friend, since the
two of them flanking an enemy means a damage
boost for each striker.

Power Selection

Choosing powers for a commanding avenger can
be pretty simple. Your avenger receives the most
benefit out of powers that are specifically designed
for the build (those that feature a Censure of Unity
rider effect), but you might want to consider other
general categories of powers. Any power that allows
you to maneuver an enemy into a more advantageous
position, whether through teleportation or forced
movement, means that you have a better chance of

moving the enemy close to your allies and gaining
your damage boost.

The other type of power you should look for is a
power that provides a bonus to your allies against
your target, or those that penalize your opponent’s
defenses (such as lethal intercession in Divine Power,
page 15). Since your allies are already going to be
adjacent to your enemy (under optimal circum¬
stances), chances are they are attacking your target,
and these powers can boost their effectiveness.

COMMANDING AVENGER
EE ATS

A commanding avenger should take feats that
help boost melee damage output, but you should
also consider taking a pair of other feats. Divine
Distraction (Divine Power, page 131) grants a
bonus to your allies’ damage against your oath
of enmity target when you are adjacent to the
enemy. The other is a paragon tier feat, Vexing
Flanker ( Player’s Handbook 2, page 193), which
causes enemies you flank to grant combat
advantage to your allies. Both of these feats
benefit not only your allies in melee combat,
but also your ranged attackers, meaning you
provide accuracy and damage boosts to your
entire party.

Isolating Avenger

“Your friends cannot save you. Repent now, for in moments
I will speed you on to your afterlife.”

-Lirra Moonglow, avenger of Sehanine

An isolating avenger is similar to a commanding
avenger in many ways. However, whereas the com¬

manding avenger wants to push enemies close to his
or her allies, the isolating avenger tries to deter other
enemies from interfering in his or her attacks. The
isolating avenger doesn’t mind being near multiple
enemies, since the Censure of Retribution class fea¬
ture can provide extra damage when you hit your
oath of enmity target. Like all avengers, the isolating
avenger wants to keep other enemies away to benefit
from oath of enmity, but the isolating avenger has one
of the best deterrents.

An isolating avenger doesn’t have an inherent way
of keeping enemies from escaping, so much of his or
her ability to isolate an enemy comes from powers
that reposition the opponent plus the natural barri¬
ers found on the battlefield, such as walls, difficult
terrain, and so on. Since the isolating avenger doesn’t
need to worry about being attacked by multiple ene¬
mies as much, he or she probably wants to try to pin
enemies against walls and other blocking terrain and
let other enemies boost his or her damage if they try
to pry him or her off of an oath of enmity target.

Power Selection

As mentioned above, the isolating avenger needs to
move enemies into a position from which they have
difficulty escaping. Powers that teleport are best at
this, but powers that slide provide the kind of posi¬
tioning needed to pin enemies. Additionally, any
powers that punish an enemy for moving away are
a good way to make up for the lack of a class feature
that allows the isolating avenger to follow his or her

Additionally, the isolating avenger should consider
taking powers (especially utility powers) that provide
the ability to spend healing surges, true healing, and
temporary hit points. Though the isolating avenger

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Avenger Essentials.- Divine Retribution

gains a damage boost when hit by other enemies
(something the avenger might invite if only to take
down his or her oath of enmity target more quickly),
eventually all those attacks take their toll. Late in the
fight, leaders might be out of healing abilities, and the
avenger might have to ensure that he or she can stay
up after taking an encounter’s worth of damage from
multiple enemies.

TELEPORTATION

Powers that teleport are extremely beneficial for
any avenger. Not only does the teleportation ele¬
ment put the avenger in a position from which
he or she can use the oath of enmity benefit every
round, some powers teleport both the avenger
and his or her target. However, you have a lot of
other ways to gain the ability to teleport beyond
avenger powers. Magic items such as the robe of
contingency ( Adventurer’s Vault, page 49) can be
of great help, because they provide not only the
ability to move into a better position but also
give avengers some much-needed healing if they
have taken a lot of damage. Although shifting is
good, teleportation is the absolute best way for
an avenger to ensure that he or she is gaining
the benefit of oath of enmity and doing his or her
job as a striker.

Pursuing Avenger

“Escape is not an option, my friend. Wherever you go, I will
be but one step behind you. Run to the ends of the world if
you must, and I will be there haunting your footsteps. Hide
in the depths of the earth, and I will be waiting with the
torch. No one can escape the eyes of the gods.’’

-Vargas, the White Assassin

The pursuing avenger has the benefit of being the
hardest build from which to escape. A pursuing
avenger wants to pull enemies aside, daring them
to try to flee and stacking up damage on those who
attempt it. The pursuing avenger also has a lot of ways
(thanks to his or her powers) of getting a target alone
and keeping them there.

For the most part, the pursuing avenger wants to
try to move enemies away from the fray, because he
or she has no deterrents against an enemy’s attack,
and this build gains no real benefit from pushing an
enemy into allies (other than the obvious result of
focusing multiple ally’s attacks on that target). You
can use the physical space between your avenger
and the rest of his or her enemies as a buffer, and
when possible pull enemies back behind the party’s
defender so that the defender acts as a wall between
him or her and other enemies. When an enemy does
flee, the pursuing avenger should have some powers
handy to move to this oath of enmity target quickly to
take advantage of the damage boost from Censure of
Pursuit.

Power Selection

The Censure of Pursuit riders on a lot of powers are
the best indicators of powers that serve this build
best. Powers such as sequestering strike include not
only teleports for you and your oath of enmity target,
but an increasingly long-range teleport based on a
secondary ability score, which makes getting your
enemies alone for some one-on-one time all that
much easier. Powers that include a kind of movement
in them are great for the pursuing avenger, and they
enable the avenger to take advantage of the damage
boost provided by Censure of Pursuit even while
dazed or slowed.

A pursuing avenger also wants to look for powers
that punish enemies for moving away directly. For
example, the bond of foresight power (Player’s Hand
book 2, page 37) punishes an enemy for moving
away by letting you make an opportunity attack no
matter how the enemy goes about it. Pursuing aveng¬
ers should also consider taking the Melee Training
(Wisdom) feat (Player’s Handbook 2, page 187) so that
they have a better chance of punishing their enemies
as they move away, with more accurate opportunity
attacks rather than having to wait until the following

The best ability scores for avengers affect not only
their attacks and riders, but also fit well with useful

After you choose the ability scores most closely
associated with your build, you might want to assign
your remaining scores to fit in with the themes of
your deity. You can look at the skills listed in the
“Your Deity and You” section of Divine Power (page
124) and choose scores that match those skills.

Above all, Wisdom is going to be the most impor¬
tant skill for the avenger. It governs attack rolls and
damage bonuses, and important skills such as Percep¬
tion (no avenger likes to be caught unaware). Once
again, the avenger’s increased accuracy due to oath of
enmity somewhat mitigates the need for maxing out
your Wisdom score, giving you the option to have a
slightly lower Wisdom score and then offsetting that
with Weapon Expertise.

skills.

Wisdom

ABILITIES

Avenger Essentials.- Divine Retribution

Dexterity

If you choose the Censure of Pursuit class feature,
Dexterity is your second most important ability score,
behind Wisdom. Your Dexterity bonus determines
the bonus damage you deal when an enemy moves
away from you, and it governs skills such as Acrobat¬
ics and Stealth that can be beneficial for an avenger.
Additionally, Dexterity can help boost your AC and
Reflex, protecting you from attacks while you are
engaged in melee combat without requiring you to
wear any armor other than cloth.

Intelligence

For the commanding and isolating avenger, Intelli¬
gence can act as an important secondary ability score.
Censure of Retribution directly ties its bonus damage
to Intelligence, though the commanding avenger uses
Intelligence only in power riders. Like Dexterity, a
high Intelligence can boost your AC and Reflex and
protect you from harm, and it also unlocks interesting
multiclass combinations (described below).

MONK MULT1CLASS1NG

The monk makes a great choice for the pursuing
avenger looking to multiclass. Not only are monk
attack powers based on Dexterity (of which the
pursuing avenger should have a decent score),
but one of the monk’s builds has Wisdom as a
secondary ability score, which matches up with
the avenger’s primary ability score. Since many
monk powers also include a mobility element
to them, they might make a nice choice for an
avenger looking to add a bit of spice to his or her
power selection.

SWORDMAGE

MULT1CLASS1NG

The swordmage is a natural fit for the avenger
with a decent Intelligence who is looking to
multiclass. Not only is it an Intelligence primary
class that uses a weapon for many of its attacks,
the swordmage’s powers include a number of
control effects (such as immobilization or forced
movement) and teleport effects, both of which
are great additions to the swordmage’s arsenal.

WIZARD MULT1CLASS1NG

Like the swordmage, the wizard is a good choice
for multiclassing as an Intelligence secondary
avenger thanks to its primary ability score.
However, one of the best aspects of multiclass¬
ing into wizard is that the wizard has a large
number of utility powers that are good choices
for the avenger, like invisibility and dimension
door. Not Only does the teleportation element
put the avenger in a position from which he or
she can use the oath of enmity benefit every
round, some powers teleport both the avenger
and his or her target. However, you have a lot of
other ways to gain the ability to teleport beyond
avenger powers. Magic items such as the robe of
contingency ( Adventurer’s Vault, page 49) can be
of great help, because they provide not only the
ability to move into a better position but also
give avengers some much-needed healing if they
have taken a lot of damage. Although shifting is
good, teleportation is the absolute best way for
an avenger to ensure that he or she is gaining
the benefit of oath of enmity and doing his or her
job as a striker.

RACE

Races with a Wisdom bonus are all very suitable for
avengers. Depending on your chosen build, a variety
of other races with Intelligence or Dexterity bonuses
work moderately well. The following table offers a few
suggestions on the best races for the various avenger
builds. You also should take into account the race’s
powers and other benefits when choosing a race, as
well as the general idea behind your character and
the conceits of the campaign you are joining.

1 Avenger Build

Best Races 1

Commanding/lsolating

Changeling, Deva*, Dwarf, Eladrin, Genasi, Githzerai, Gnome, Human, Shadar-Kai, Shifter,
Tiefling, Wilden

Pursuing

Changeling, Deva, Drow, Dwarf, Eladrin, Elf*, Githzerai*, Half-Ore, Halfling, Human,

Revenant, Shadar-Kai, Shifter*, Wilden

* Matches both primary and secondary ability score

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Avenger Essentials.- Divine Retribution

DOMAINS

Introduced in Divine Power, domains alter at-will
prayers and give more Channel Divinity options.
These options have several factors to process: the
deity you worship, the Channel Divinity power, and
the powers the domain alters. If you need a decent
starting place (beyond the roleplaying options you
receive from the domain), search the domain feats for
at-wills you’ve chosen. Here’s a quick reference list.

VERSATILE MASTER

Though the half-elf isn’t an optimal race for
avengers, their ability to pick up an at-will power
from another class (first as an encounter power,
then as an at-will with the Versatile Master
feat from Player’s Handbook 2) can make them
a tempting race for avengers. An avenger with
thunder wave as an at-will (particularly an Intel¬
ligence secondary build avenger) can approach
a group of enemies, blast all but his or her oath
of enmity target back a great distance, and then
start wailing on the oath of enmity target. This
example shows a good combination made better
by the half-elf race.

Of course, you don’t have to take all the options from
a domain or constrain yourself to only one. For exam¬
ple, you might take the Power of Vengeance domain
feat (Divine Power, page 122) from the vengeance
domain, and then take the Death Knell divinity feat
(DivinePower, page 111) from the death domain.

Bond of censure * Destruction, justice, luck, moon, sea, tyranny, undeath, winter

Bond of retribution

Fate, strife

Leading strike

Civilization, freedom, hope, knowledge, protection

Overwhelming Strike Change, earth, madness, poison, skill, storm, strength, torment, trickery, wilderness
Radiant vengeance Arcana, creation, death, life, love, sun, vengeance

‘This power appears in Divine Power.

AVENGER FEATS

Heroic Tier Feats

Avenging Resolution

Prerequisites: Avenger, oath of enmity power
Benefit: When you attack a target of your oath of
enmity with a weapon attack, treat all rolls of a 1 or 2
on the damage dice as though the result were a 3 on
the die.

Distant Vengeance

Prerequisites: Avenger, oath of enmity power
Benefit: As long as you are within 10 squares of
your oath of enmity target and no other enemies are
adjacent to you, you gain the benefit of your oath of
enmity on all ranged basic attacks against your oath of
enmity target.

Oath oe Urgency

Prerequisites: Avenger, Channel Divinity class
feature, oath of enmity power

Benefit: You gain the Channel Divinity power
oath of urgency.

1 Channel Divinity:

Feat Power 1

| Oath of Urgency

___

You utter a prayer of need, calling upon your god to bring
swift vengeance upon a new foe.

Encounter ♦ Divine
Minor Action Personal

Effect: The current target of your oath of enmity is no longer the
target of that power. You regain your oath of enmity power
and use it as a free action immediately.

Unyielding Pursuit

Prerequisites: Avenger
Benefit: If you end a run action adjacent to a
target of your oath of enmity, you take no penalty on
attack rolls against your oath of enmity target from that
run action.

Paragon Tier Feats

Arbiter oe Justice

Prerequisites: 11th level, avenger, oath of enmity
power

Benefit: You deal +2 damage against bloodied
targets. Additionally, whenever an ally bloodies or
reduces your oath of enmity target to 0 hit points, you
may act as though you had bloodied or reduced the
target to 0 hit points.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Exposing Oath

Prerequisites: 11th level, avenger, oath of enmity
power

Benefit: While a creature is your oath of enmity
target, your attacks ignore any resist radiant or resist
necrotic the target has.

Halo of Isolation

Prerequisites: 11th level, avenger, oath of enmity
power

Benefit: While adjacent to your oath of enmity
target, all other enemies treat squares adjacent to you
as difficult terrain.

Painful Oath

Prerequisites: 11th level, avenger, oath of enmity
power

Benefit: The first time you hit your oath of enmity
target each turn, you deal extra radiant and necrotic
damage equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Epic Tier Feats

Halo of Tethering

Prerequisites: 21st level, avenger, oath of enmity
power

Benefit: When an oath of enmity target that is adja¬
cent to you shifts, you can shift 1 square into a square
it vacated.

Halo of Warding

Prerequisites: 21st level, avenger, oath of enmity
power

Avenger Essentials.- Divine Retribution

HEROIC TIER FEATS ^

Avenger Feat

Prerequisites

Benefit 1

Avenging Resolution

Avenger, oath of enmity

Treat damage dice results of 1 or 2 as a result of 3

Distant Vengeance

Avenger, oath of enmity

Gain oath of enmity benefit with ranged basic attacks

Oath of Urgency

Avenger, Channel Divinity, oath of enmity

Change the target of your oath of enmity

Unyielding Pursuit

Avenger

Negate penalties of run action against oath target

PARAGON TIER FEATS

Avenger Feat

Prerequisites

Benefit 1

Arbiter of Justice

11th level, avenger, oath of enmity

+2 damage against bloodied creatures and gain
benefits if any oath target is bloodied or killed

Exposing Oath

11th level, avenger, oath of enmity

Ignore resist radiant or resist necrotic of your
oath target

Halo of Isolation

11th level, avenger, oath of enmity

Squares adjacent to you can become difficult terrain

Painful Oath

11th level, avenger, oath of enmity

Deal extra radiant and necrotic damage to
oath target

EPIC TIER FEATS

Avenger Feat

Prerequisites

Benefit 1

Halo of Tethering

21st level, avenger, oath of enmity

Shift into square oath target shifted out of

Halo of Warding

21st level, avenger, oath of enmity

Make opportunity attack against non-oath enemies
that move next to you

Hand of Divine Guidance 21st level, avenger, oath of enmity

Score crits on 19-20 against oath target

Vengeful Declaration

21st level, avenger, oath of enmity

Use oath of enmity as free action on your turn

Benefit: While you are adjacent to your oath of
enmity target, you can make an opportunity attack
against any other enemy that moves into a square
adjacent to you, provided the enemy does not shift
or is not moved into that square by teleportation or
forced movement.

Hand of Divine Guidance

Prerequisites: 21st level, avenger, oath of enmity
power

Benefit: You score critical hits on a roll of 19-20
against your oath of enmity target.

Vengeful Declaration

Prerequisites: 21st level, avenger, oath of enmity
power

Benefit: You can use oath of enmity as a free action
on your turn.

About the Author

Rodney Thompson is a game designer at Wizards of the
Coast. His previous design credits include the Star Wars ®
Roleplaying Game Saga Edition, the Clone Wars Campaign
Guide supplement, and the Scum and Villainy supplement.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Class Acts.-

Avenger

Level 1 At-Will Prayers

Your prayers call for your enemy to stumble before you, and
your enemy is bathed in radiant light that sears like fire.

At-Will ♦ Divine, Implement, Radiant
Standard Action Ranged 5

Target: One creature
Attack: Wisdom vs. Will

Hit: 1 d8 + Wisdom modifier radiant damage. If the target is
your oath of enmity target, the target is also slowed until
the end of your next turn.

Level 21: 2d8 + Wisdom modifier damage.

Special: You can use this power as a ranged basic attack.

Prayers

By Rodney Thompson

Illustration by Patrick McEvoy

Level 1 Encounter Prayers

You refuse to let your enemies escape you, scorching a brand
uponyour sworn foe that is drawn to the power of your oath.

Encounter ♦ Divine, Implement, Radiant
Standard Action Ranged 5

Target: One creature

Effect: If the target is your oath of enmity target, you can roll
twice on this attack and use either result.

Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex

Hit: 2d8 + Wisdom modifier radiant damage, and the target is
slowed until the end of your next turn.

Avengers can sometimes encounter difficulties in
attacking the targets of their oath of enmity. In some
cases, their oath of enmity target flees or is otherwise
removed from the battlefield, making it impossible
to continue attacking them, while in other cases the
avenger is adjacent to multiple enemies. The follow¬
ing powers are designed to help avengers continue
to take advantage of their oath of enmity even under
circumstances where they would not normally be able
to do so.

Level 1 Daily Prayers

Steelsworn Oath Avenger Attack 1

As you swing your weapon at your enemy, you infuse the attack
with the power of divine retribution, and the power lingers on
your foe.

Daily ♦ Divine, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Effect: Before the attack, the target becomes the target of your
oath of enmity, replacing your current oath of enmity target if
you have one.

Attack: Wisdom vs. AC

Hit: 3[W] + Wisdom modifier damage.

Miss: Half damage.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Class Acts.- Avenger Prayers

Level 3 Encounter Prayers

Level 7 Encounter Prayers

Level 13 Encounter Prayers

tmm

Avenger Attack 3

You perform miracles and walk through the air to ensure that
your enemy does not escape your vengeance.

Encounter ♦ Divine, Teleportation, Weapon
Immediate Reaction Melee weapon

Trigger: Your oath of enmity target ends its turn within 5
squares of you but is not adjacent to you
Censure of Pursuit: The triggering enemy must be within
10 squares of you instead of 5.

Target: The triggering enemy

Effect: Before the attack, you teleport to a square adjacent to
the target.

Attack: Wisdom vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Wisdom modifier damage.

You force away the chaff that is your enemy’s allies with
divine energy, leaving no one to interfere with your pursuit of
vengeance.

Encounter ♦ Divine, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Effect: Before making this attack, you push each enemy
adjacent to you other than your oath of enmity target 3
squares, but not into a square that causes the creature to
make a saving throw or take damage or another negative
effect.

Target: Your oath of enmity target

Attack: Wisdom vs. AC

Hit: 2[W] + Wisdom modifier damage.

You bind your enemy’s spirit in a pact with the forces of death,
promising to send it to the afterlife one way or another.

Encounter ♦ Divine, Implement, Necrotic
Standard Action Ranged 5

Target: One creature

Effect: If the target is your oath of enmity target, you can roll
twice on this attack and use either result.

Attack: Wisdom vs. Will

Hit: 3d8 + Wisdom modifier necrotic damage, and until the
end of your next turn the target takes 5 necrotic damage
for each square it moves.

Level 15 Daily Prayers

Level 5 Daily Prayers

Your oath binds itself to your foe, serving as a reproach that
calls out for divine retribution.

Daily ♦ Divine, Implement, Radiant
Standard Action Ranged 5

Target: Your oath of enmity target
Attack: Wisdom vs. Will

Hit: 3d8 + Wisdom modifier radiant damage, and the target
takes a -2 penalty to all defenses against divine attack
powers (save ends).

Miss: Half damage and the target takes a -2 penalty to all
defenses against divine attack powers until the end of your

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, when you use an

avenger implement attack power against the target of your
oath of enmity, you can benefit from your oath of enmity as
though you were making a melee attack and the target
were adjacent to you.

Level 9 Daily Prayers

You guarantee that none who approach you can get in the way
of your sworn oath.

Daily ♦ Divine, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Attack: Wisdom vs. AC

Hit: 3[W] + Wisdom modifier damage.

Miss: Half damage.

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, when any enemy that
is not your oath of enmity target ends its turn adjacent to
you, you can push that enemy 3 squares as a free action.

In addition, if the target of your oath of enmity ends its turn
adjacent to you, it is slowed until the end of its next turn.

Your enmity knows no limits, and as you strike your foe you
focus your vengeance upon it.

Daily ♦ Divine, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Effect: Before the attack, the target becomes the target of your
oath of enmity. If this causes you to have more than one
oath of enmity target, you do not regain the use of your oath
of enmity power until all your oath of enmity targets drop to
0 hit points, or until the end of the encounter.

Attack: Wisdom vs. AC

Hit: 4[W] + Wisdom modifier damage.

Miss: Half damage.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Level 17 Encounter Prayers

You let nothing stand in the way of reaching your enemies,
especially when they threaten your allies.

Encounter ♦ Divine, Teleportation, Weapon
Standard Action Melee Weapon

Effect: Before making this attack, shift up to your speed +2.
Censure of Unity: If your oath of enmity target is within 10
squares of you and adjacent to one of your allies, teleport
into any unoccupied square adjacent to the target instead
of shifting.

Target: Your oath of enmity target

Attack: Wisdom vs. AC

Hit: 3[W] + Wisdom modifier damage.

Level 19 Daily Prayers

You draw upon the radiant energy of your deity, infusingyour
sworn oaths with power that sears your enemy and draws it
into your attack.

Daily ♦ Divine, Implement, Radiant
Standard Action Ranged S

Target: Your oath of enmity target
Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex

Hit: 5d8 + Wisdom modifier radiant damage, and you pull the
target 5 squares to a square adjacent to you.

Miss: Half damage and you pull the target 2 squares.

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, when you use an aveng¬
er implement attack power against your oath of enmity
target, you can benefit from your oath of enmity as though
you were making a melee attack and the target were adja-

Level 23 Encounter Prayers

Sacred Arena Avenger Attack 23

You banish your enemies from your presence, keeping behind
only the target of your sacred enmity

Encounter ♦ Divine, Teleportation, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Effect: Before making this attack, you can teleport each enemy
adjacent to you other than your oath of enmity target 5
squares to a square not adjacent to you, and not to a square
that causes the creature to make a saving throw or take
damage or another negative effect.

Target: Your oath of enmity target

Attack: Wisdom vs. AC

Hit: 4[W] + Wisdom modifier damage.

Level 25 Daily Prayers

You manifest wings of pure divine power, which draw you ever
closer to those you have sworn to defeat.

Daily ♦ Divine, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Effect: Before making this attack, you can fly up to your speed.

Target: One creature

Attack: Wisdom vs. AC

Hit: 5[W] + Wisdom modifier damage.

Miss: Half damage.

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, on any of your turns that
you start without your oath of enmity target adjacent to you,
you can use the following action:

Move Action Personal

Effect: Fly up to your speed to a square adjacent to your oath
of enmity target, and your oath of enmity target grants you
combat advantage until the end of your next turn.

Class Acts.- Avenger Prayers

Level 27 Encounter Prayers

Covenant of Repentance Avenger Attack 27

You demand penitence from those who have flouted the will of
your god, and you harm those who refuse to repent.

Encounter ♦ Divine, Implement, Necrotic
Standard Action Ranged 5

Target: One creature

Effect: If the target is your oath of enmity target, you can roll
twice on this attack and use either result.

Attack: Wisdom vs. Will

Hit: 3d8 + Wisdom modifier necrotic damage, and you knock
the target prone. If the target is not prone at the end of its
next turn, it takes 10 extra necrotic damage.

Level 29 Daily Prayers

ESEEE3

Avenger Attack 29

You utter an oath sworn so deeply that the words of your
prayer are seared into the very fabric of your enemy’s spirit.

Daily ♦ Divine, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Attack: Wisdom vs. AC

Hit: 6[W] + Wisdom modifier damage.

Miss: Half damage + 5 damage.

About the Author

Rodney Thompson is a developer and designer at Wiz¬
ards of the Coast. His previous design credits include the
Star Wars® Roleplaying Game Saga Edition, the Clone Wars
CampaignGuide supplement, and the Scum and Villainy
supplement.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Class Acts.-

By Stephen Radney-MacFarland

Illustration by David Rapoza

The School of Twenty Blades is a small, unassuming
building nestled on the edge of the civilized world.
Most passersby mistake it for a private residence or
the workshop. The old man who sits on the building’s
front stoop looks unassuming. Few would guess that
he is Crelden Varn, one of the greatest living weapon
masters.

Crelden has taught dozens of young warriors the
art of battle. His ethos is simple. A warrior who relies
too heavily on a single weapon is doomed to eventu¬
ally match his technique against a foe who can exploit
his style’s weakness. No single school of martial arts
is perfect. Thus, he seeks to teach his students a broad
range of tactics. He encourages them to carry several
weapons and use the right one based on the situation.

Crelden’s teachings form the basis of the most flex¬
ible approach to the fighting arts. His students learn
a variety of stances to react to an enemy’s tactics.

They incorporate ranged weapons into their strategy,
engaging an enemy from a distance before closing to
attack. They turn a shield into an offensive weapon,
sending an enemy’s attacks careening into their other
foes. Most importantly, they learn simple attack tech¬
niques that, when matched with different weapons,
produce wildly different results. A fighter who studies
the School of Twenty Blades is unmatched in his abil¬
ity to react to his foe’s tactics.

Fighter

Heroic Tier Feats

Weapon Master

Prerequisite: Weapon Focus, Weapon Expertise
Benefit: You gain the benefits of Weapon Focus
and Weapon Expertise with all weapons you are
proficient with.

Level 1 At-Will Exploits

Resolute Shield Fighter Attack 1

As you slosh into your foe, you pull your shield into a defen¬
sive position between the two of you, guaranteeing that it
absorbs at least some of your enemy’s attack.

At-Will ♦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Requirement: You must be using a shield
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC

Flit: 1 [W] + Strength modifier damage, and you gain resist
equal to your Constitution modifier against the target’s
attacks until the end of your next turn.

Increase damage to 2[W] + your Strength modifier at 21st

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Class Acts.- Fighter

MANAGING MULTIPLE
STANCES

This article introduces a number of stances that
you can use each encounter. A good way to track
your stances is to either print power cards for
them or note each on an index card. Arrange
them in a stack, with your current stance face up.
When you swap stances, simply put your new
stance on top and put the other at the bottom
of the stack.

Weapon Master’s Strike Fighter Attack 1

You shift your tactics to match your weapon’s strengths, maxi¬
mizing its advantages to gain an edge against your foe.

At-Will ♦ Martial, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Effect: Before making this attack, you may sheathe a weapon
and draw a different one as a free action.

Attack: Strength vs. AC

Hit: 1 [W] + Strength modifier damage. In addition, the target
takes an additional effect based on the weapon you wield.

Axe: The target takes extra damage equal to your Constitu¬
tion modifier.

Mace: You slide the target 1 square.

Heavy Blade: Until the end of your next turn, you gain a +1
power bonus to AC against the target’s attacks.

Spear or Polearm: Until the end of your next turn, the target
provokes opportunity attacks from you when it shifts

Level 2 Utility Exploits

Battle Fury Stance_ Fighter Utility 2

You throw your full weight into each attack, ruining your de¬
fenses but scoring a crippling blow with each strike.

Encounter ♦ Martial, Stance
Minor Action Personal

Effect: You gain a +2 power bonus to damage rolls with
weapon attacks but suffer a -2 penalty to AC. The bonus
damage from this stance increase to +4 at 11 th level and
+6 at 21st level.

Special: This stance ends when you spend a healing surge. You
can end this stance as a free action during your turn but not
on the same turn that you activated it.

Level 3 Encounter
Exploits

MMBHimiMM

As you hammer your foe with an attack, you move your shield
to deflect its counterattack.

Encounter ♦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Requirement: You must be using a shield
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC

Hit: 2[W] + Strength modifier damage. The next time the
target attacks you before the end of your next turn, one
other enemy adjacent to you suffers damage equal to your
Strength modifier.

Level 6 Utility Exploits

■j.i.mi.umuj

You stand poised, ready to block attacks made against your
allies with your shield or, failing that, your body.

Encounter ♦ Martial, Stance

Minor Action Personal

Effect: Whenever an ally adjacent to you takes damage, as a
free action, reduce that damage by 5. You must use this
ability anytime you are able. When you do so, you take 5
damage, which cannot be reduce of redirected in anyway.

Special: You can end this stance as a free action during your

Level 7 Encounter
Exploits

As a master of many weapons, you use this simple attack form

as the starting point for expressing your weapon’s nature.

Encounter ♦ Martial, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Effect: Before making this attack, you may sheathe a weapon
and draw a different one as a free action.

Attack: Strength vs. AC

Hit: 2[W] + Strength modifier damage. In addition, the target
takes an additional effect based on the weapon you wield.

Axe: Up to 2 creatures adjacent to the target take damage
equal to your Constitution modifier.

Mace: The target is knocked prone.

Heavy Blade: You gain combat advantage against the target
until the end of your next turn.

Spear or Polearm: You slide the target 2 squares and shift 2
squares to a square adjacent to the target.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Class Acts.- Fighter

Level 10 Utility Exploits Level 16 Utility Exploits

Martial Redoubt Fighter Utility 10

You sink into a broad fighting stance, whirling your weapon in
an arc that disrupts your foe’s line of sight and allows you to
knock aside your enemy’s attacks. While you protect your foes,
this stance forces you to compromise your own defenses.

Encounter ♦ Martial, Stance
Minor Action Personal

Effect: Until the stance ends, your allies have cover when adja¬
cent to you. Your enemies gain combat advantage against

Special: You can end this stance as a free action during your

Level 13 Encounter Exploits

You tangle your shield with your foe as you lunge to attack.
While it struggles to escape, you use your shield to deflect at¬
tacks against you into it.

Encounter ♦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Requirement: You must be using a shield
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC

Hit: 3[W] + Strength modifier damage. Until the end of your
next turn, each time you are attacked the target suffers
damage equal to your Strength modifier if it is adjacent to
you. This benefit does not apply to attacks that target both
you and your target.

You twist and move in your current space, your shield held
ready, as you prepare to block your foe’s attacks.

Encounter ♦ Martial, Stance
Move Action Personal
Requirement: You must be using a shield
Effect: You gain a +2 power bonus to all defenses and are im¬
mune to forced movement.

Special: This stance ends if you move during your turn. You can
end this stance as a free action during your turn.

Level 17 Encounter Exploits

Weapon Master’s Tactics Fighter Attack 17

You shift to a new weapon, catching your enemy offguard as
your tactics make a dramatic transformation.

Encounter ♦ Martial, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Effect: Before making this attack, you may sheathe a weapon
and draw a different one as a free action.

Attack: Strength vs. AC

Hit: 2[W] + Strength modifier damage.

Axe: All enemies adjacent to you and the target take damage
equal to 5 + your Constitution modifier.

Mace: The target is dazed until the end of your next turn.

Heavy Blade: The target’s attack penalty due to your mark
increases to -4 until the end of your next turn.

Spear or Polearm: You slide the target to any other square
adjacent to you.

Level 22 Utility Exploits

Martial Supremacy Fighter Utility 22

Your fighting expertise and experience allow you to use your
most familiar attacks with unmatched accuracy.

Encounter ♦ Martial, Stance
Minor Action Personal

Effect: Until the stance ends, whenever you use a fighter at-will
attack power or basic attack that has the weapon keyword,
you may reroll the attack roll. Use the second roll, even if
it’s lower.

Special: This stance ends if you spend a healing surge. You can
end this stance as a free action during your turn.

Level 23 Encounter Exploits

You hack into your foe, leaving it defenseless for a critical mo¬
ment. As another foe closes to attack, you ready your shield to
deflect the attack into your target.

Encounter ♦ Martial, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Requirement: You must be using a shield
Target: One creature
Attack: Strength vs. AC

Hit: 2[W] + Strength modifier damage and the target is dazed
until the end of your next turn. The next time an attack hits
you before the end of your next turn, the target is also hit
by that attack if it is adjacent to you. This benefit does not
apply to attacks that target both you and your target.

About the Author

Stephen Radney-MacFarland is the Lead Designer for the
Dungeons & Dragons® roleplaying game. His recent credits
include HI: Keep on the Shadow/ell™ and Player's Handbook® 2.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

By Robert J. Schwalb

Illustrations by Patrick McEvoy

Class Acts.* Warlock

Secrets of the Blackest Night

Warlocks are dangerous. Entering a pact is no
common event. The entity often requires something
in exchange. What a warlock offers varies from
individual to individual, but the idea that the war-
lock would offer something precious enough to gain
vast power, no matter how just the cause, suggests a
willingness to do anything to obtain goals. If a war-
lock can be tempted to offer up his or her soul for a
few spells, what else might that warlock do for even
greater power?

The Daughters of Blackest Night exemplify the
peril all warlocks face when dabbling with occult
entities. The coven formed and vanished centuries
ago, first appearing in the world when the black
witch Eraea assembled likeminded arcanists to join
her efforts to dislodge Asmodeus as the Nine Hells’
ruler. She forged a pact with Glasya, daughter of
Asmodeus, but she entered the agreement to exploit
the infernal power offered and demonstrated no
particular loyalty to her mistress. Her grudge against

Asmodeus was not prompted by her mistress, but
rather it came from Eraea’s own desire for power
as well as her wish to strike at the gods whom she
despised.

Eraea’s mad designs won her many enemies and
eventually Asmodeus’s inquisitors cornered the coven
and burned them alive, but the mark this warlock left
upon the world lingers still in the wicked spells she
designed and the ambition she once held.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Class Acts.- Warlock

The Blasphemous Tibram

Eraea’s coven took the name Daughters of Blackest
Night to suggest they stood as far from the shining
gods as they could. They performed many terrible
deeds during their time, but their most heinous
accomplishment was authoring the Blasphemous
Lexicon, a book filled with records of the Daughters’
pacts with Glasya, how others might make such pacts,
and the powers and dark rituals one can gain from
so doing. The book survived the purge that ended the
coven, surfacing now and then to cause trouble to
those who examine its pages.

Those who study the Blasphemous Libram and use
its power risk their very souls. The book covets soul
energy, and those who die with the tome in their pos¬
session find passage to the Shadowfell closed to them
as they enter the Nine Hells to endure torments for all
time. Enemies destroyed through spells cast through
the tome might find similar fates.

THE BLASPHEMOUS
LIBRAM

The Blasphemous Libram itself is a powerful evil
artifact, infused with the evil wills of the Daugh¬
ters of Blackest Night and of many of those who
have borne and read the book since its creation.
The book seeks to fall into the hands of inexperi¬
enced warlocks whom it can more easily corrupt
and groom to become forces of true evil.

Level 1 Daily Spell

POWER OF GLASYA’S
PATRONAGE

Accepting a gift from Glasya is dangerous, but
infernal warlocks stand to benefit from the gift
moreso than others. At your DM’s option, there
might be added restrictions for gaining the feats
and powers in this article to help preserve the
associated story elements.

Blasphemous Libram: Characters can acquire
the Daughter’s Promises feat and associated
powers only after discovering the Blasphemous
Libram. This restriction keeps these powers both
rare and special in your game.

Retraining Only: Characters can gain
powers presented in this article only by retrain¬
ing other powers. This restriction underscores
the difficulty one faces when mastering these
powers and also reflects the character’s growing
corruption.

New Warlock Spells

The following new powers represent many spells
used by the Daughters of Blackest Night, but they are
available to any warlock with a penchant toward the
sinister. Many offer the warlock a chance to reclaim
and bolster their greatest powers by sacrificing a
small amount of pain to Glasya.

The Lash’s Bite Warlock Attack 1

By focusing your will, you rip vital energy from your enemy
and cause it to ache deeply at the resulting loss.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Implement, Psychic
Standard Action Ranged 10

Target: One enemy
Attack: Constitution vs. Will

Hit: 3dl 0 + Constitution modifier psychic damage, and the
target loses all immunities and resistances (save ends).

Infernal Pact: The target takes a -2 penalty to the first saving
throw against this effect.

Miss: By choosing to take psychic damage equal to 5 + one-
half your level, you do not expend this power and you gain
a +4 power bonus to the attack roll with this power against
the same target before the end of your next turn. You
cannot reduce the damage you take in any way.

Vile Brand Warlock Attack 1

With only a word, you cause a distant enemy’s hide to blacken
and form a brand that decreases your foe’s ability to strike
against you.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Fear, Implement, Psychic
Standard Action Ranged 20

Target: One enemy
Attack: Constitution vs. Will

Hit: 3d10 + Constitution modifier psychic damage, and the
target and any enemy adjacent to the target takes a -2
penalty to attack roils until the end of your next turn.

Infernal Pact: Any enemy within 2 squares of you also takes
a -2 penalty to attack rolls until the end of your next turn.
Miss: By choosing to take psychic damage equal to S + one-
half your level, you do not expend this power and you gain
a +4 power bonus to the attack roll with this power against
the same target before the end of your next turn. You
cannot reduce the damage you take in any way.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Class Acts.- Warlock

Level 2 Utility Spell

Level 6 Utility Spell

Level 10 Utility Spell

1 Ruinous Phrase Warlock Utility 2 Hf:

The words that leave your lips resonate within an object, caus¬
ing it to shatter.

The injury you sustain vanishes and reappears on a nearby
ally, and with it comes a cold anger that makes your ally a
more dangerous combatant.

Encounter ♦ Arcane

nagical,

Standard Action Close burst 10

Target: One unattended Medium or smaller non-i
inanimate object in burst

Effect: If the target has hit points equal to 20 + your level or
fewer, you destroy it. Otherwise, you deal it no damage and
do not expend this power.

Infernal Pact: The target is destroyed if it has hit points equal
to 25 + your level or fewer, instead of 20.

Level 5 Daily Spells

Blistering Torrent

As you utter blistering words, your foes feel a dull pain that
crescendos into a sharp pain and leaves them unable to hear

Daily ♦ Arcane, Implement, Necrotic
Standard Action Close blast 3

Target: Each creature in blast
Attack: Constitution vs. Fortitude

Hit: 2d10 + Constitution modifier necrotic damage, and the
target is deafened until the end of the encounter.
Infernal Pact: The target is also slowed (save ends).

Hellsworn Blessing

The words you whisper in an ally’s ear transform your com¬
panion into a more useful servant.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Polymorph

Standard Action Melee touch

Target: One ally

Effect: The target assumes the form of a hellsworn until the
end of the encounter or until you dismiss the effect as a
minor action. While in this form, the target gains darkvi-
sion, gains a +2 power bonus to attack rolls, and deals 2d8
extra fire damage with melee attacks.

Infernal Pact: The target also gains resist fire equal to 5 +
one-half your level.

Encounter ♦ Arcane
Immediate Interrupt Ranged 5

Trigger: You are damaged by an attack
Target: One ally

Effect: The target takes the damage from the triggering attack
instead of you. You still take any other effects from the
attack. The target gains a +2 power bonus to attack rolls
and a +5 power bonus to damage rolls until the end of your

Infernal Pact: The target also gains a +2 power bonus to all
defenses until the end of your next turn.

Level 9 Daily Spells

A hideous glyph burns into your enemy’s brow and a vile dark¬
ness spreads the curse your enemy now carries to its allies.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Implement

Standard Action Ranged 10

Target: One enemy

Attack: Constitution vs. Fortitude

Hit: 2d1 2 + Constitution modifier damage. Until the end of
the encounter, any enemy that starts its turn adjacent to
the target gains your Warlock’s Curse.

Infernal Pact: You can also slide the target a number of
squares equal to your Intelligence modifier.

With a single swift word, you cause an ally to erupt in hellish
flames and reappear.

Encounter ♦ Arcane, Fire, Teleportation
Minor Action Ranged 10

Target: One ally

Effect: The target takes fire damage equal to half your level and
teleports 5 squares.

Infernal Pact: The target gains concealment until the start of

Level 15 Daily Spells

Blasphemous Utterance Warlock Attack 15

The terrible words you speak toll within the minds of those you
wish to harm and cause them to lose some battle proficiency.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Implement, Psychic

Standard Action Close burst 3

Target: Each creature in burst

Attack: Constitution vs. Will

Hit: 2d10 + Constitution modifier psychic damage.

Effect: The target takes a -2 penalty to attack rolls and
defenses (save ends).

Infernal Pact: The target also takes vulnerable 5 psychic
damage (save ends).

:r 2009 | DRAGON 382

ifso)

Class Acts.- Warlock

Evil Expulsion Warlock Attack 15

You pronounce your enemy’s doom and filthy black tendrils
erupt to curse another in your enemy’s presence.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Implement, Psychic
Standard Action Ranged 10

Target: One creature
Attack: Constitution vs. Reflex

Hit: 4d1 0 + Constitution modifier psychic damage, and the
target falls prone. You can place your Warlock’s Curse on
any enemy adjacent to the target.

Infernal Pact: You can instead place your Warlock’s Curse on
any enemy within 3 squares of the target.

WARLOCK FEATURES

Forming pacts with Glasya can change how your
warlock class features look. Whenever you target
a creature with Warlock’s Curse, all color bleeds
from the target, leaving behind an ashen crea¬
ture touched by your blasphemous utterance.
Whenever you use Shadow Walk, the gathering
darkness seems made up from pale, flitting spir¬
its, cursed to languish in the Nine Hells.

Heroic Tier Feats

Any feat In this section is available to a character of
any level who meets the prerequisites.

Level 16 Utility Spells

3 £

The words you speak resonant in the area, causing both you
and those you have cursed feel wounds more deeply.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Stance
Minor Action Personal

Effect: Until the stance ends, you gain vulnerable 5 to all dam¬
age, but your Warlock’s Curse deals 2d6 extra damage. You
can end this stance as a minor action.

Infernal Pact: Until the stance ends, you also slide any en¬
emy you hit with an attack 1 square.

Level 19 Daily Spells

Hellftre Eruption Warlock Attack 19

Your foe erupts in hellish black flames that boil and writhe,
incinerating anyone that comes too close.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Fire, Implement
Standard Action Ranged 10

Target: One creature
Attack: Constitution vs. Reflex

Hit: 4d8 + Constitution modifier fire damage, and ongoing 10
fire damage (save ends). While the target has this ongoing
fire damage, any creature that starts its turn in a square
adjacent to the target takes ongoing 5 fire damage (save

Infernal Pact: The target also takes a -2 penalty to attack
rolls while it has ongoing damage from this power.

Allegiance to the Daughter

Prerequisite: Warlock, Infernal Pact
Benefit: Whenever you reduce an enemy you
have cursed to 0 hit points with a warlock attack, the
enemy’s space fills with hellfire until the end of your
next turn. Any creature that enters or starts its turn
within the square takes fire damage equal to 5 + one-
half your level.

Daughter's Promises

Prerequisite: Warlock, Infernal Pact
Benefit: Replace your pact boon with the follow¬
ing: When an enemy under your Warlock’s Curse
drops to 0 hit points, you deal fire damage equal to 5
+ one-half your level to any enemy within 1 square of
that enemy. You also gain temporary hit points equal
to one-half your level.

Vile Resona

Warlock Utility 16

Dark Thaumaturgy

Prerequisite: Warlock, Daughter’s Promises feat
Benefit: You gain a +3 bonus to all skill checks
related to performing a ritual for each milestone you
have achieved so far today.

Devil's Favor

Prerequisite: Warlock, Infernal Pact
Benefit: Whenever you use your second wind,
you can choose to regain no hit points to instead gain
a +2 bonus to attack rolls, saving throws, and damage
rolls until the end of your next turn.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Class Acts.- Warlock

Glasya’s Rebuke

Prerequisite: Warlock, Infernal Pact, hellish
rebuke power

Benefit: Each time a target takes damage from
hellish rebuke because you took damage, one enemy
within 5 squares of the target also takes 5 fire
damage.

Hellbound Heart

Prerequisite: Warlock, Infernal Pact
Benefit: Whenever you spend a healing surge,
you gain resist fire equal to 5 + one-half your level
and a +2 bonus to your next saving throw before the
end of your next turn. If you already have fire resis¬
tance, you can instead increase that resistance by 5
until the end of your next turn.

Infernal Soul

Prerequisite: Warlock, Infernal Pact
Benefit: While you have temporary hit points, you
gain resist 5 fire. If you already have fire resistance,
add 5 to your resistance.

Paragon Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
11th level or higher who meets the prerequisites.

Eluting Shadows

Prerequisite: 11th level, warlock, Warlock's
Curse class feature.

Benefit: Whenever you hit an enemy under your
Warlock’s Curse with an encounter or daily warlock
power, you can reduce the Warlock’s Curse damage
you deal to teleport the target. You can teleport the
target 3 squares for each die of Warlock’s Curse
damage you give up.

Sickening Shadows

Prerequisite: 11th level, warlock, Shadow Walk
class feature

Benefit: Whenever an enemy misses you with
a melee attack while you have concealment from
Shadow Walk, that enemy takes necrotic damage
equal to your Intelligence modifier.

About the Author

Robert J. Schwalb is an award-winning game designer
whose more recent work can be found in Martial Power 2,
Draconomicon 2, and Primal Power. Robert lives in Tennessee.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

By Aidyn Newman

Illustration by David Rapoza

Druid

A panther prowls the jungle, crouched low to the
ground and ready to pounce at a moment’s notice.
Lying in ambush, latched to the ceiling of a warm,
dank dungeon, a giant spider awaits its next victim.
Roaring in glorious defiance, a proud lion bolsters
the resolve of its pack, its enemies trembling in fear.
The druid is all of these things and more - the very
essence of the wild in complete harmony.

The druid is, by its very nature, an incredibly
versatile class. The ability to not only use invoca¬
tions, but also fight in beast form allows druids to
take on many different roles in a party. In addition
to this, they can also become many different kinds of
animals, with distinct combat styles of their own. A
boar might rush headfirst into battle, whereas a hunt¬
ing cat might wait stealthily for the perfect moment
to strike before revealing herself. This is where the
druid’s true versatility comes into play. A druid can
take any form the player wishes, as long as it adheres
to the rules set forth in their wild shape power from
Player’s Handbook 2. This leaves them open to literally
hundreds of different potential forms and interpreta¬
tions. Some of the powers in Player’s Handbook 2 deal
with a few types of animal forms a druid might use,
but they aren’t all-inclusive, nor do they represent the
full scope of the druid’s abilities. This article gives
the druid all new options for shapeshifting, includ¬
ing a few new utility powers, a handful of daily attack

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

powers that turn the druid into new and exotic ani¬
mals (or any similar counterpart the player wishes),
and many new feats that allow a druid to truly
become whatever animal they desire.

Heroic Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
any level who meets the prerequisites.

Patient Hunter

Prerequisite: Druid, pounce power, wild shape
power

Benefit: When you hit a target with an attack
using the pounce power, the target grants combat
advantage until the end of your next turn.

Ruthless Killer

Prerequisite: Druid, grasping claws power, wild
shape power

Benefit: When you hit a target with the grasping
claws power, instead of slowing the target you can
instead choose for the target to be immobilized until
the end of your next turn. If you are ever not adjacent
to the target, the immobilized effect ends.

Unstoppable Goliath

Prerequisite: Druid, savage rend power, wild shape
power

Benefit: When you hit a target with the savage
rend power, you can shift 1 square into the space
occupied by your target after you slide it.

Paragon Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
11th level or higher who meets the prerequisites.

Brutal Grappler Eorm

Prerequisite: 11th level, druid, wild shape power
Benefit: While you are in beast form, you gain
a +2 feat bonus to grab attempts. Additionally, any
target you are grabbing while in beast form grants
you combat advantage.

Tierce Thrasher Eorm

Prerequisite: 11th level, druid, wild shape power
Benefit: While you are in beast form and use
a beast form power that pushes, pulls, or slides the
target, increase the distance of the push, pull, or slide
by 1 square.

Scuttling Crawler Eorm

Prerequisite: 11th level, druid, wild shape power
Benefit: While you are in beast form, you gain a
+5 feat bonus to Athletics checks to climb and can
climb at your speed.

Venomous Eang Eorm

Prerequisite: 11th level, druid, wild shape power
Benefit: While you are in beast form, all your
melee attacks with the poison keyword ignore the
first 10 points of the target’s poison resist. This
increases to 15 points at 21st level.

Class Acts.- Druid

New Druid Powers

The following powers can provide your druid with
new means of movement, damage options, and more.

Level 5 Daily Evocation

Primal Spider Druid Attack 5

You become a giant spider, shooting sticky webbing at a group
of nearby enemies to ensnare them.

Daily ♦ Beast Form, Implement, Poison, Primal
Standard Action Area burst 1 within 5 squares

Target: Each creature in burst
Attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude

Hit: 2d8 + Wisdom modifier poison damage, and the target is
immobilized (save ends)

Miss: Half damage, and the target is slowed until the end of

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, while you are in beast
form, whenever you hit an enemy with a melee attack, that
enemy is slowed until the end of your next turn.

Level 6 Utility Evocation

You take the form of a treetop creature or another animal or
insect that can easily traverse heights, taking to a perch unseen
by your enemies.

Daily ♦ Polymorph, Primal
Minor Action Personal

Effect: You assume the form of a Tiny or Small beast or insect
that can climb to great heights with ease until the end of
the encounter, or until you end the effect as a free action.

In this form, you gain a climb speed equal to your speed
and a +5 power bonus to Stealth checks. Additionally, any
time you fall, you treat the distance you fall as being 20 feet
shorter for the purposes of determining falling damage.
While in this form, you can’t attack or use magic items.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Class Acts.- Druid

Level 9 Daily Evocation

Level 15 Daily Evocations

Level 19 Daily Evocation

Primal Serpent Druid Attack 9

You morph into a dire serpent, and deadly venom infuses your
bite infused. At first, your attack seems trivial, but soon the
venom saps your enemy’s life away.

Daily ♦ Beast Form, Implement, Poison, Primal
Standard Action Melee touch

Target: One creature
Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex

Hit: 1 dl 0 + Wisdom modifier damage, and ongoing 5 poison
damage (save ends).

Miss: Half damage.

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, while you are in beast
form, whenever you use an attack with the beast form key¬
word, you can choose to have that attack gain the poison
keyword and deal poison damage instead of its normal
damage type. If the attack already deals poison damage, it
deals additional poison damage equal to your Constitution
modifier.

Level 10 Utility Evocation

You can transform into a small sea creature, using your fins to
traverse water as easily as land.

Daily ♦ Polymorph, Primal
Minor Action Personal

Effect: You assume the form of a Tiny or Small aquatic beast,
such as a fish or eel, until the end of the encounter, or until
you end the effect as a free action. In this form, you gain
a swim speed equal to your speed and you can breathe
underwater. While in this form, you can’t attack, move on
land, or use magic items.

il Boar Druid Attack 15

You become a dire boar, charging headfirst toward your desig¬
nated foe. You barrel through anyone foolish enough to stand
inyour path.

Daily ♦ Beast Form, Implement, Primal
Standard Action Personal

Effect: You make a charge attack. Any enemy that makes an
opportunity attack against you during this charge attack
takes 1 5 damage, and you push that enemy 1 square and
knock it prone.

Until the end of the encounter, while you are in beast form,
you gain +2 speed while charging and gain a bonus to dam¬
age rolls with charge attacks equal to your Constitution
modifier.

Primal Crocodile Druid Attack 15

You transform into a dire crocodile and snap your powerful
jaws onto your foe’s legs, making it impossiblefor it to escape.

Daily ♦ Beast Form, Implement, Primal
Standard Action Melee touch

Target: One creature
Attack: Wisdom vs. Fortitude

Hit: 2d10 + Wisdom modifier damage, and the target is

grabbed. The target takes a -2 penalty to its rolls to escape
this grab.

Miss: Half damage, and the target is grabbed, but does not take
the -2 penalty to escape the grab.

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, while you are in beast
form, when you hit an adjacent enemy with a melee at¬
tack, you grab that enemy. You can have only one creature
grabbed at a time.

Primal Lion Druid Attack 19

Your beast form becomes that of a dire lion, inspiring awe in
your allies and fear inyour enemies as you roar ferociously.

Daily ♦ Beast Form, Fear, Implement, Primal
Standard Action Close burst 5

Target: Each enemy in burst
Attack: Wisdom vs. Will

Hit: You push the target 1 square, and it takes 3d8 + Wisdom
modifier damage and is dazed (save ends).

Effect: All allies in the burst gain temporary hit points equal to
your 5 + your Constitution modifier. Until the end of the
encounter, while in beast form, whenever you hit an enemy
adjacent to you with a melee attack, the target grants
combat advantage until the end of your next turn.

Level 25 Daily Evocation

Primal Panther Druid Attack 25

You transform into a dire panther, strikingfrom the shadows
and returning to cover immediately afterwards.

Daily ♦ Beast Form, Implement, Primal
Standard Action Melee touch

Target: One creature

Effect: Before the attack, you can move up to half your speed.
Attack: Wisdom vs. Reflex

Hit: 5d8 + Wisdom modifier damage, and you can shift 3
squares, after which you are considered to be invisible to
the target until the end of your next turn.

Effect: Until the end of the encounter, while you are in
beast form, any time you hit a target that grants combat
advantage to you by making a melee attack, you shift 1
square and are invisible to the target until the end of your

About the Author

Aidyn Newman contends that he has spent more time creat¬
ing roleplaying settings, systems, and supplements than he has
studying for any class, and it probably shows. Somehow, despite
this fact, he has managed to graduate from college and now
attends Albany Law School in New York ... where he continues
to create roleplaying settings, systems, and supplements.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Class Acts.- Invoker

Secrets of the God Fragments

By Robert J. Schwalb

Illustration by David Rapoza

The relationships invokers have with the gods are
both simple and complex. They are simple in that the
invoker draws from the god’s power directly and can
circumvent the filters-symbols, rituals, and ordain-
ment-other agents require to wield divine energy. An
invoker needs only to call upon energy, and it flows
through the invoker’s flesh to manifest in whatever
way the invoker desires. In terms of complexity, the
invoker cedes independence from the deity and
becomes an extension of the god’s will. Central to this
bond is the covenant, which is the sacred agreement
that facilitates the exchange of service for vast power
and merges the wills and objectives of the god to that
of the agent.

Many roads lead mortals to serve as invokers, but
no easy path exists. Some pore over ancient holy texts

to learn about a deity’s higher purpose. Others are
called to serve through more direct revelation-typ-
ically a dream or waking vision. Some also find a
connection through a direct agent of the god’s will,
such as an angel, exarch, or avatar. These and other
avenues can all lead to the decision point—that
moment of crisis when an individual enters the
compact that alters the servant’s course for the rest
of his or her life. For many invokers, this “spark”
granted by a deity is allegorical—it is nothing more
than an idea to help frame the prayers required
to channel the energy. The wisest understand the
spark is more than just a representation: The shard
lodged within the mortal’s soul is a fragment of the
god’s own soul.

Class Acts.- Invoker

GOD FRAGMENTS

All invokers contain within them a divine spark,
through which they apprehend divine power directly
from their god. For many invokers, this fragment is a
means to an end and serves as the source from which
their power flows, but in some invokers this fragment
is more than a divine spark and contains a portion
of the god’s own consciousness. Any invoker can stir
the divine essence by selecting the Awaken God Frag¬
ment feat.

Awaken God Fragment

Prerequisite: 11th level, invoker
Benefit: The god fragment within you awakens
to strengthen your connections to your divine patron
and improve the flow of energy into your being.
Choose a god fragment that corresponds with the
deity you serve. You gain all the fragment’s benefits.

GOD FRAGMENTS

By awakening your god fragment, you invite the deity’s
essence to permeate your body and personality in a
manner that causes the boundaries between you and
your god to blur. An awakened god fragment provides
the following benefits.

Constant Benefits: You receive these benefits as
long as you possess the Awaken God Fragment feat.

Divine Manifestation: Once per encounter, when
you use a divine encounter or daily attack power, you
can choose to augment it with your divine manifesta¬
tion.

Quirks: This entry describes personality quirks that
might manifest in you when you awaken the god frag¬
ment.

The power ofAvandra allows you to ensure that no bonds can
hold your allies for long.

Constant Benefits

When an ally adjacent to you makes a saving throw
against an effect that includes the slowed, immobilized, or
restrained condition, the ally rolls two saving throws and
takes the better result.

Divine Manifestation (Encounter)

Free Action. Trigger: You use a divine encounter or daily
attack power. Effect: You grant one ally adjacent to a target
of the triggering attack a saving throw. If the saving throw
is against an effect that includes the slowed, immobilized,
or restrained condition, the ally rolls two saving throws and
takes the better result.

Quirks

Impatient, impulsive, insightful

Your ire against any who defy the common good fills you and
provides you or your allies with additional protection against

Constant Benefits

While all your encounter attack powers are expended, you
gain a +1 bonus to all defenses.

Divine Manifestation (Encounter)

Free Action. Trigger: You use a divine encounter or daily
attack power. Effect: One ally you can see that is adjacent to
a target of the triggering attack gains a +2 power bonus to
all defenses until the end of your next turn.

Quirks

Aggressive, guarded, protective

The secrets of magic and the wisdom of nature are constant
companions to your travels, and they provide you or an ally
with the ability to move at times.

Constant Benefits

You gain a +2 feat bonus to Arcana and Nature checks.
Divine Manifestation (Encounter ♦ Teleportation)

Free Action. Trigger: You use a divine encounter or daily
attack power. Effect: You or an ally adjacent to you can
teleport 5 squares.

Quirks

Detached, distracted, mercurial

Fragment of Erafhis God Fragment

You understand the desires of the civilized and the fears of
those who dwell in savagery, which allows you to better com¬
municate as well as anticipate a foe’s next move.

Constant Benefits

You gain a +2 feat bonus to Diplomacy checks.

You can read, speak, and write one extra language.

Divine Manifestation (Encounter ♦ Fear)

Free Action. Trigger: You use a divine encounter or daily
attack power. Effect: The targets of the triggering attack
take a -2 penalty to attack rolls against you until the end of

Arrogant, inspired, strong-minded

Wisdom floods your mind, revealing the cosmos’s secrets-
sometimes you see the most vulnerable area of your foe’s
defenses as you strike.

Constant Benefits

When you make a knowledge check, roll two checks and
take the best result.

Divine Manifestation (Encounter)

Free Action. Trigger: You have rolled damage for a divine
encounter or daily attack power. Effect: Reroll any number
of that power’s damage dice.

Quirks

Distracted, intellectual, studious

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

You feel vigor and life flow through your veins, which some¬
times allows you to shove away your foes with divine might.

Constant Benefits

You gain a +2 feat bonus to Athletics and Endurance.
Divine Manifestation (Encounter)

Free Action. Trigger: You use a divine encounter or daily
attack power. Effect You push the targets of the triggering
attack 2 squares.

Quirks

Abrasive, intimidating, lively

You feel the forces of the wild stir your soul, granting you extra
insights into nature, heartier defenses, and an ability to ma¬
nipulate both friends and foes in a battle.

Constant Benefits

You gain a +2 feat bonus to Nature checks.

Each time you fail a saving throw, you gain a +2 bonus to
the next saving throw you make against that effect.
Divine Manifestation (Encounter)

Free Action. Trigger: You use a divine encounter or daily
attack power. Effect: You slide one ally adjacent to you or
the target of the triggering attack 2 squares.

Fierce, quiet, violent

You are tough as iron, and you have the mettle to shield your
allies from any danger.

Constant Benefits

Increase your number of healing surges by one.

Divine Manifestation (Encounter)

Free Action. Trigger: You use a divine encounter or daily
attack power. Effect: One ally you can see gains temporary
hit points equal to your Constitution or Intelligence
modifier.

Quirks

Loyal, intolerant, persistent

Class Acts.- Invoker

Like the sun, you bring hope to the living and destruction to
creatures of shadow.

Constant Benefits

Allies adjacent to you roll two saving throws and take the
best result when making death saving throws or saving
throws against an effect that deals ongoing necrotic

About the Author

Robert J. Schwalb is an award-winning game designer
whose more recent work can be found in Martial Power” 2,
Draconomicon™: Metallic Dragons, and Primal Power™. Robert
lives in Tennessee.

Divine Manifestation (Encounter ♦ Radiant)

Free Action. Trigger: You use a divine encounter or daily
attack power. Effect The attack deals extra radiant damage
equal to your Constitution or Intelligence modifier.

Quirks

Bold, fiery, pompous

Fragment of the Raven Queen God Fragment

Winter’s cold bolsters your mind and body, and those who
cross you feel its icy bite as it slows their movements.

Constant Benefits

You gain a +2 feat bonus to Intimidate checks.

You can resist ambient cold temperatures as if you were
subject to the Endure Elements ritual.

Divine Manifestation (Encounter)

Free Action. Trigger: You use a divine encounter or daily
attack power. Effect: You slow all targets of the attack until
the end of your next turn.

Quirks

Cruel, impartial, steadfast

You find shadows and cloak yourself within them. No danger
can keep you trapped if you wish to be free of it.

Constant Benefits

You gain a +2 feat bonus to Stealth checks.

Divine Manifestation (Encounter ♦ Teleportation)

Free Action. Trigger: You use a divine encounter or daily
attack power. Effect You gain concealment until the start
of your next turn. If you are hit by an attack while you have
concealment, you can teleport 2 squares as an immediate
reaction. Increase the number of squares you can teleport
by 1 for each milestone you have reached today.

Quirks

Alluring, cautious, sneaky

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Power Play:

Arcane’s Gloaming Path

As the lightning crashed around us on that windswept and
hail-battered knoll, I cried out to my master. I pleaded with
him to quit this dangerous spell, while never sure my frantic
voice broke the din. If he heard me, he ignored me. His eyes
aglow with eldritch light, he intoned the fey incantation
over and over again. With each verse the world seemed to
rumble and crash toward its end. With each syllable he
called down our doom.

And then, with unnatural immediacy, the storm ended.
The clouds hastily parted, the smell of ozone dissipated,
and sun shone so powerfully upon the menhirs that their
drenched stone let go fine wisps of steam. Slowly taking my
hands from my ears, I looked toward my master. He was the
same man who led me to the hillock, that was for sure, but he
had changed. He became . . . more . . . more fey.

“I am done with you, lad. I take the next step toward
seeking the true mysteries of magic. The Witch of Fates has
seen fit to let you live, and that is both a boon and a portent.
It is your turn to go out in the world to find your way on the
Gloaming Path.”

I stood there slack-jawed and confused as my master
opened a fey passage and bid his final farewell with only a
slight raising of his sigil-carved staff.

I never saw him again, and I had no idea what he
meant, until now.

-From the journal of Quinliss the Twilight Walker

By Stephen Radney-MacFarland

Illustrations by Alex Aparin

If you listen to a guild mage, she’ll tell you that the
best way to master the arcane arts is by diligent
study of the old masters. She’ll insist you endure the
dust of old scrolls and the tiny scrawl of Nerath or
Bael Turath archmages found within fragile pages
of worm-chewed tomes. That is one path; it’s not the
only path.

Some gain divine inspiration not from the works
and formulas of those who came before them, but
they would rather go to one of the most potent sources
of arcane power—the Feywild.

Although the Feywild is not the sole origin of
arcane magic, it’s a powerful one. The practitioners
of fey arcane power are both mysterious and subtle.
Some of the most subtle follow the Gloaming Court,
which is a confederation of philosopher fey that holds
sway over the twilight, romance, dreams, inspiration,
epiphany, and dusk. Nontraditionalist, they follow a
particular path of arcane enlightenment they call the
Gloaming Path.

The following is a small selection of the Gloaming
Path backgrounds, powers, and familiars available to
heroic tier arcane spellcasters.

Power Play: Arcane's Gloaming Path

BACKGROUNDS

Although the Gloaming Path can be a revelation dis¬
covered later in the life and learning of any arcane
master, frequently a potential spellcaster feels the
pull of the path at an early age. A messenger of the
Gloaming Court might make note of the character, or
a chance encounter can open one’s mind to its mysti¬
cal possibilities.

Child of Fate: You were born with a birthmark
associated with a member of the Gloaming Court: a
moon, a heart, or even the stylized loom shape of the
Witch of Fate. Whatever form the mark takes, you
were called at birth as a traveler on the Gloaming
Path, whether you like it or not.

Associated Skills: Nature, Insight

Moonstruck Hunter: One night, when the moon
was full, you followed a spectral stag that led you
deep into the wilderness. There you danced with a
member of the Gloaming Court, who introduced
you to his or her mysteries. Since then you’ve been in
some way fey-touched, and now you walk in silence
upon dusky paths of mystery.

Associated Skills: Perception, Stealth

POWERS

Although the Gloaming Path as a whole is as broad
and clever as a dreamscape, many of its practitioners
utilize the powers that specialize in movement of the
body, the mind, and the fates. Some of the most iconic
of these powers come in the form of arcane utility
powers.

Moonstride Wizard Utility 2

This trick of the Maiden of the Moon allows you to take a form
of pure moonlight and to evade your enemies with ease.

Encounter ♦ Arcane
Immediate Reaction Personal

Trigger: An enemy moves adjacent to you
Effect: You become insubstantial until the end of your next
turn. Then you shift 2 squares to a square farther from the
triggering enemy.

Witch’s Reversal Wizard Utility 10

You look at the world with the eyes of the Witch of Fates, then
pull the strands that allow you to steal victory from defeat.

Daily ♦ Arcane

Free Action Personal

Trigger: You use an arcane attack power and miss with at least
two of that power’s attack rolls
Effect: You reroll the attack rolls that missed their targets and
use the new results.

of Hearts

Warlock Utility 2

Your enemies might not love you, but thanks to this charm
crafted by the Prince of Hearts, they do not attack you when
you give them the opportunity.

Daily ♦ Arcane, Charm
Minor Action Personal

Effect: Until the end of your next turn, you do not provoke
opportunity attacks and you gain a +2 power bonus to all
defenses.

Sustain Minor: The effect persists.

tmsmsam

With one miss, the fates collude against your enemy, heralding
its ultimate doom.

Encounter ♦ Arcane
Immediate Reaction Personal

Trigger: An enemy misses you with an attack
Target: The triggering enemy

Effect: You place your Warlock’s Curse on the target. Also, until
the end of your next turn, the target takes a -2 penalty to
attack rolls against you and grants combat advantage to

Stride of the Gallant Sword mage Utility 6

With the rush of wind, you blink to your enemy’s side, darting
around the battlefield in a swirl of sword and spell.

Daily 4 Arcane, Stance, Teleportation
Minor Action Personal

Effect: Until the stance ends, you gain teleport 3 as a move
action, but you must end such teleports adjacent to an
enemy.

The Maiden of the Moon rouses you from your languor.

Encounter 4 Arcane
No Action Personal

Trigger: You start your turn stunned, dazed, or unconscious
Effect: You take your turn as though you were not stunned,
dazed, or unconscious. At the end of your turn, the effect
continues as normal.

FAMILIARS

Characters can gain the following familiars by using
the Arcane Familiar feat (Arcane Power™, page 139).
Each is associated with an archfey or aspect of the
Gloaming Court, and often (but not always) an
arcane character must first perform a service or be
noticed by the archfey or aspect before it is “gifted”
with the appropriate familiar.

Familiar Milestone Powers: Each of these
Gloaming Path familiars have a power that the
master of the familiar can use once per milestone.
These powers recharge when the familiar’s master
takes an extended rest and with each milestone the
master reaches.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Power Play: Arcane's Gloaming Path

Muse Sprite

These spirits flit all over the Feywild, frequently
taking the form of speedy flickering motes of light
that are similar to will-o’-wisps. When bound into the
form of the familiar, they take a humanoid form and
look like a luminescent creature with slight wings.

Many Gloaming Court archfey and powerful spell-
casters bind these spirits into muse form for those
who serve them. Muse sprites are the most common
familiar granted by the Gloaming Court.

White-Eyed Crow

These spirits serve the powerful fey oracle known as
the Witch of Fates. Some say that these milky-eyed
blackbirds don’t see form and color, but rather they
see the strands of fate that connect all living creatures
to their and other creatures’ dooms.

The Witch of Fates bequeaths a white -eyed crow
to her servants and to poor melancholy souls who
are doomed to do fate’s bidding. Both are the fickle
witch’s chosen.

Moon Wisp

These motes of pale luminescence flitter though the
darkest woods of the Feywild primeval forests in
the dead of winter. Sometimes helpful, they’ve been
known to guide a hunter to his or her prey when the
need is great, but they’re also known to torment evil
or vicious predators, especially lycanthropes.

Keeping a moon wisp as a familiar is typically
a sign of favor from the Maiden of the Moon. As a
result, sometimes this spirit is called Maiden’s kiss.

Gallant Hawk

The gallant hawk spirit takes the form of a noble
hunting hawk, and the features on its white breast
form a heater shield. A favorite familiar and symbol
of elf and eladrin swordmages and multiclass spell¬
casting warriors, the gallant hawk is believed by some
to be the lingering spirit of famous and forlorn fey
warriors.

A gift of the passionate but capricious Prince of
Hearts, a gallant hawk is granted to those warriors
who fight for honor, love, and beauty.

Gallant Hawk Famili;

Noble hawks with sable wings and a white breast in the form
of a shield, gallant hawk spirits have a form of raptor beauty
whether at the glove or inflight.

Speed 2, fly 6 (hover)

Constant Benefits

You gain a +2 bonus to Perception checks.

While a creature marked by you is adjacent to you, it takes
a -3 penalty to attack rolls on attacks that don’t include you
as a target instead of the normal -2 from being marked.
Active Benefits

Gallant’s Call: Once per milestone, as a minor action, you
can mark each creature adjacent to the gallant hawk (save

Moon Wisp Familit

These wisps of pale moonlight move to and fro through the night
like a luminous tadpole in a wine-dark sea.

Speed fly 6 (hover)

Constant Benefits

You gain a +2 bonus to Arcana and Nature checks.

The moon wisp radiates dim or bright light in a radius from
2 to 10 squares. You can change the details as a minor
action, but it defaults to dim light in a 2-square radius.
Active Benefits

Moon Bite: Once per milestone, as a minor action, the
moon’s light reveals truth. Until the end of your next turn,
attacks against any creature within 2 squares of the moon
wisp do not take the -2 penalty from concealment.

About the Author

Born on a stormy Christmas day, in our nation’s capital,
during the Nixon administration, the stars were definitely
wrong when Stephen Radney-MacFarland came scream¬
ing into the world. Spending most of his impressionable years
as a vagabond and ne’r-do-well, Stephen eventually settled in
the Northwest to waste his life on roleplaying games.

Once that RPGA® guy, Stephen is now a developer in RPG
R&D where he doesn’t create the traps . . . he just makes
them deadlier. He also teaches a class on roleplaying design
for the Art Institute of Seattle, molding the minds of young
and upcoming designers. Be afraid. Be very afraid.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Power

Primal

Play.-

By Tavis Allison

Illustrations by Alex Aparin

“Making a map creates connections. The more faithfully
we record a place, the more we share in the power of its
spirit of place”

~ NoelaXoana, disciple of Lugos

In the wildest areas of the Nentir Vale, legends tell of
a time when the world was ripe with power. A quest¬
ing hero could find whatever he or she sought if he or
she had the will to travel far enough. Those who dis¬
covered a node of earth energy, a spring of vital water,
or an elder spirit generous with its great wisdom
achieved many great things. But the greatest hero of
all was the first primal mapper, Lugos, who invented
a method for leading others to rediscover the things
he had found during his journeys.

Unlike traditional maps, primal maps provide
those using them with the full story of their maker’s
experience. They preserve how the feel of the sand
changed underfoot as Lugos descended into the For¬
lorn Drift, and how his spirit soared when he found
the source of Nine Snake River. A traditional car¬
tographer converts a surveyor’s measurements into

an imaginary bird’s-eye view of the land. For those
who have learned Lugos’s craft, though, they need no
such abstraction. If they want to see the world as a
bird does, they become one, and the primal map they
create as they soar is a visceral record of each thermal
updraft and spray of rain.

A primal map guides both body and soul. The
record Lugos created of his journey to the Well of the
Head can guide you and your comrades through the
surrounding forest like any other map. The unique
virtue of a primal map, though, is that you can send
your spirit along the path it creates, reliving the
experience of the mapper’s journey as if in a dream.
Using a primal map in this way takes as long as it
took the original mapper to make the journey, during
which time you are in a dreamlike state similar to an
eladrin’s trance.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Power Play : Primal

PARAGON PATH

The following paragon path can provide characters
with options for tactical movement in combat as well
as a character concept that allows a player and DM to
help others visualize locations.

Primal Mapper

“My spirit is part of this land, and I carry the landscape
within me. You cannot block my path.”

Prerequisites: Primal power source

When did you first know that your awareness of the
world around you is unique? Perhaps you were under¬
ground when a gust of wind blew out your torches,
leaving your party in utter darkness from which only
you could lead the way back. Or maybe you were
attacked under cover of a thick fog and shouted out,
“Retreat and regroup at our last campsite!” Only after
you said this did you realize that you were the only
one for whom that was as easy to find as your own
foot. Your comrades have long relied on your intuition
to determine which tunnel leads to the surface and
where you will find higher ground that better allows
you to defend yourself against your pursuers.

Some primal mappers are disciples of Lugos’s
teachings, while others have discovered his principles
independently. You took your first steps toward the
path of the primal mapper when you became aware
that each of the places in the world has its primal
spirit of place-a spirit intimately connected to its
location. Your devotion to noticing and remembering
every detail of the lands you travel makes you akin
to these spirits of place. Like them, your abilities go
beyond a superior tactical understanding of posi¬

tion and landscape and into a mystical realm where
making a representation of a place gives you power
over it. You need not even physically create a map to
provide a connection by which spirits from that realm
can enter the mundane world; simply visualizing one
will suffice. Let those who would stand in your way
beware!

Allied Terrain Primal Mapper Utility 12

You call upon the local spirits to guide your allies’ steps.

Daily ♦ Primal

Minor Action Personal

Effect: Until the end of your next turn, allies ignore difficult ter¬
rain while within 3 squares of you, and enemies treat the
space within 3 squares of you as difficult terrain.

Sustain Minor: The effect persists.

Primal Mapper Path Features

Rerouted Action (11th level): When you spend
an action point to take an extra action, you can also
move your speed or shift half your speed before or
after that action.

Revitalizing Run (11th level): When you use
your second wind, you can also move your speed or
shift half your speed.

Lay of the Land (16th level): You ignore difficult
terrain.

Primal Mapper Evocations

Lugos’s Hunt Primal Mapper Attack 20

You spill your foe’s blood on the ground, fixing your enemy on
your internal landscape so that hiding is impossible.

Daily ♦ Primal

Free Action Personal

Trigger: You make an attack roll for an at-will power
Effect: If your attack hits its target, the target takes 4d10 extra
damage. Until the end of the encounter, you ignore penal¬
ties to attack rolls against the target from concealment or
total concealment if you have line of sight to the target.

MAGIC ITEMS

Some primal maps have been integrated into magic
items.

Pale Wolf’s Lure Primal Mapper Attack 11

You visualize your strike tracing a path to the hunting grounds
of the pale wolves, and the scent of your foe draws the preda¬
tors to follow.

Encounter ♦ Conjuration, Primal
Free Action Personal

Trigger: You make an attack roil for an at-will power
Effect: If your attack hits its target, the target takes 2d10 extra
damage and you conjure a pale wolf that occupies one
square adjacent to the target until the end of your next
turn. Any enemy that moves out of a square adjacent to the
wolf takes 5 damage.

Armor

Snake’s Lair Armor Level 7+

The bumps of this snakeskin armor’s surface tell your fingers
about each ridge and valley encountered while tracking the
Eternal Enemy to its lair.

Lvl 7 +2 2,600 gp Lvl 22 +5 325,000 gp

Lvl 12 +3 13,000 gp Lvl 27 +6 1,625,000 gp

Lvl 17 +4 65,000 gp

Armor: Leather, hide
Enhancement: AC

Property: You do not grant combat advantage or take a penalty
to attack rolls while you are squeezing.

Power (Daily): Move Action. You shift half your speed. You can
shift through enemies’ squares during this move.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Power Play : Primal

Weapon

Hands Slot Item

The haft of this weapon is scored with notches that count Mal-
door’s paces and record which way he turned in the Caverns of
the Garden.

Lvl 3 +1 680 gp Lvl 18 +4 85,000 gp

Lvl 8 +2 3,400 gp Lvl 23 +5 425,000 gp

Lvl 13 +3 17,000 gp Lvl 28 +6 2,12 5,000 gp

Weapon: Axe, hammer, spear, staff
Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +1 d6 damage per plus, and you push the target 1
square and shift 1 square into a square the target vacated.
Power (Daily): Free Action. Trigger: You hit an enemy with a
primal attack power using this weapon. Effect: You push the
target 1 square, and you and each ally within 5 squares of
you can shift 1 square as a free action.

Totem

Astral Redoubt Totem Level 4+

Each string of this dream-catcher totem records a leg of Ro-
lant’sjourney across the Astral Sea, including a refuge along
the path.

Lvl 4 +1 840 gp Lvl 19 +4 105,000 gp

Lvl 9 +2 4,200 gp Lvl 24 +5 525,000 gp

Lvl 14 +3 21,000 gp Lvl 29 +6 2,625,000 gp

Implement (Totem)

Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +1d6 damage per plus, and you regain hit points
equal to twice the totem’s enhancement bonus.

Power (Daily ♦ Healing, Teleportation): Free Action. Trigger:
You hit an enemy with a primal attack power using this
totem. Effect: Any ally within 5 squares regains hit points
equal to twice the totem’s enhancement bonus and can
disappear to a place of safety in the Astral Sea until the
start of his or her next turn. While there, the ally has nei¬
ther line of sight nor line of effect to anything, and nothing
has line of sight or line of effect to the ally.

River of Life Gloves Level 7+

These gloves bear turquoise and green patterns that show the
coastline leading to the mouth of the River of Life.

Lvl 7 2,600 gp Lvl 27 1,625,000 gp

Lvl 17 65,000 gp

Item Slot: Hands

Power (Daily ♦ Healing): Free Action. Trigger: You succeed on
a Heal check to stabilize a dying creature. Effect: The dying
creature regains 5 hit points and can spend a healing surge.

Level 17: The dying creature regains 10 hit points and can
spend a healing surge.

Level 27: The dying creature regains 15 hit points and can
spend a healing surge.

About the Author

Tavis Allison is the co-author of the Dragon® Magazine
article “Warden Essentials” and several other D&D® projects
that he can’t wait to see released so that he can mention them
in his About the Author section. Tavis plays and DMs with the
New York Red Box.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Winning Races.* DROW

More options tor mow characters

By Bruce R. Cordell

Illustration by Wayne England

Wait... what’s with your hair ? And skin... By Moradin’s
shaggy heard, you’re no eladrin-you’re a drow! Guards! Help!
A wight of the Underdark is trying to burgle me!

-Antonus Ginpoke, bazaar shopkeep

Drow are graceful, deadly, and feared. Despite stories
of certain drow disdaining their culture and join¬
ing adventuring companies on the surface, the drow
racial reputation of decadence and evil will always
precede any individual, no matter how sophisticated,
beautiful, or honestly true-hearted that individual
might claim to be. These good drow have to face the
fact that the vast majority of drow base their behavior
and attitudes on the worship of the chaotic evil god¬
dess Lolth, also known as the Spider Queen.

But the heart of every individual drow is its own.
Some few in every generation find that the ways of
their people are not enough to sustain them. These
drow try to find a different way—one less dependent
on treachery and malice.

Most of these are killed by other drow.

The few who survive such an awakening flee their
homeland. They often come to the surface, hoping to
discover more open-minded people than their own
relatives. Sometimes such drow refugees find success,
but never immediately or permanently.

THE BASICS

Some races are more iconic to Dungeons & Drag¬
ons® than others. While the elf and dwarf have
fulfilled that role through every edition of the game,
the race most people love to hate is the drow. And,
ever since Drizzt showed that not all drow were
irredeemably evil, the idea of drow characters has
tantalized most gaming tables at one time or another.
The draw’s lasting popularity is easily understood-at
one time or another, most people want to play a char¬
acter with the reputation for being sexy, bad, and a
little treacherous.

Overcoming the Stereotype

Your drow character’s role in the party is determined
first by the your class choice. However, the choice of
race can play a large part, too, especially if you choose
drow and roleplaying is a strong feature of your
gaming group.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Winning Races.- Drow

Presumably the other players around the table
have come to some sort of accommodation regarding
your drow character. However, that doesn’t mean the
NPCs your character meets have come to a similar
conclusion regarding your basic kindhearted nature.
So, you have three choices when faced with this sort
of prejudice against your character.

One choice is to simply grin and bear it, and
defend yourself only when forced to it. Many NPCs
are, like most real people, better at slinging insults
and threats than real fists and knives. Of course, this
tack requires a thick skin. It’s a hard thing to smile
and walk away when an idiot barbarian is enthrall¬
ing his companions with tales of how he’ll soon be
making a new cloak from your stinking drow pelt.
Moreover, unlike the real world, the NPCs who are
armed are not shy about using their weapons to dem¬
onstrate their opinions. This means that, barring any
other actions on your part, you’re likely in for a higher
number of fights than you would otherwise have to
face.

The second choice in dealing with worldly preju¬
dice is to hide your drow heritage when out and about
in public places. A hood and gloves is good enough
for casual encounters. However, without further
occlusion, this usually fails in well-lit areas and when
you’re forced to deal with an NPC at close quarters.
The perfect addition to a hood and gloves is a mask.

In a fantasy world of fantastic creatures and equally
wondrous accessories, a full-face mask isn’t especially
out of place. If you’re asked to remove it for some
reason, claim it’s a cursed item and its affixed perma¬
nently to your face.

When considering the second choice, if masks
and hoods are not your style, you could instead train
in Bluff for the purposes of perfecting a physical dis¬

guise. Disguising your race to make yourself appear
either as an eladrin or elf is your best bet. A little
make-up and hair dye will do the trick, though the
test comes when your Bluff check is opposed by a
creature’s Insight. A magic item that provides func¬
tionality similar to the wizard’s Disguise Self utility
power, such as the hat of disguise, would be useful.

Your final option in dealing with drow haters is
to be a fast talker (being skilled in Diplomacy helps).
Many overbearing buffoons might fall speechless in
the face of wit and charm. Sometimes simple checks
suffice, and other times your DM might wish you
to succeed at a skill challenge involving Diplomacy,
Insight, and Bluff.

Bring the Dark

All drow have the ability to use cloud of darkness or
darkfire during a particular encounter. As described
in the Forgotten Realms* Player’s Guide, your drow can
do one or the other in any given encounter.

In many cases, using darkfire is the preferred
choice, at least if you want to allow your allies to see
your foes. By limning your foe in a flickering halo of
light, you make it easier for both yourself and all your
companions to hit the foe. This is an especially potent
effect if you have allies that rely on combat advan¬
tage to trigger the full effect of their powers, such as
rogues.

When you decide to use cloud of darkness, you have
the advantage of not having to make an attack roll to
affect your target. Place the burst around you, and
any foe with normal senses that is within the dark¬
ness is suddenly blind. However, many of your fellow
characters cannot see the foe, either. Overuse of this
power can trigger this particular situation so often
that your companions can become frustrated with

you. Thus, before triggering this power, determine
whether any of your allies are about to target the foe
with an attack. Otherwise you run the risk of frustrat¬
ing their efforts. Of course, sometimes blinding a foe
is the perfect solution, especially if that foe is particu¬
larly dangerous and your companions are sorely hurt.
Putting up a cloud of darkness can provide the moment
of time necessary for your allies to use their second
winds, gain healing, or simply to flee.

DROW FEATS

Depending on your feat selection, your feats can
enhance your class abilities, augment your drow abili¬
ties and aesthetics, or both. This section introduces a
few new feats designed to bring out your inner drow.

Heroic Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a drow charac¬
ter of any level who meets the prerequisites.

Darkfire Dancer

Prerequisites: Drow

Benefit: If you are adjacent to a target affected by
your darkfire, you can shift 2 squares as a move action.

Drow Ecclesiastic [Divinity]

Prerequisites: Drow, Channel Divinity class
feature

Benefit: You can invoke the power of the divine to
use drow ecclesiastic.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Winning Races.- Drow

1 Channel Divinity:

Feat Power

Cloud of Poison

Web Spinner

1 Drow Ecclesiastic

Prerequisite: 11th level, drow

Lolth punishes those who escape her wiles.

Encounter ♦ Divine, Poison
Immediate Reaction Ranged 5

Trigger: An enemy within range succeeds on a saving throw to
end a condition

Effect: The target takes ongoing 5 poison damage (save ends).

Knife in the Dark

Prerequisite: Drow

Benefit: You gain a +4 feat bonus to damage rolls
against targets within your cloud of darkness. This
bonus increases to +5 at 11th level, and +6 at 21st

Secret Recovery

Prerequisite: Drow

Benefit: When you succeed on a saving throw to
end an effect, you can, as a free action, shift 1 square
and make a Stealth check to hide if you have superior
cover or total concealment.

Underdark Climber

Prerequisite: Trained in Acrobatics
Benefit: You can use your Acrobatics skill in place
of your Athletics checks to climb walls.

You also gain a +2 feat bonus to Acrobatics checks.

Paragon Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a drow
character of 11th level or higher who meets the

Benefit: Any enemy who starts its turn within
your cloud of darkness takes 5 poison damage.

Darkness Reign

Prerequisite: 11th level, drow
Benefit: As long as you are within your cloud of
darkness, you can sustain the effect as a standard
action. Each time you sustain the effect, it lasts until
the end of your next turn.

Spider Charmer [Divinity]

Prerequisite: 11th level, drow, Channel Divinity
class feature

Benefit: You can invoke the power of the divine to
use spider charmer.

1 Channel Divinity:

Feat Power

| Spider Charmer

You draw upon Lolth’s ability to command spiders and drow.

Encounter ♦ Charm, Divine, Implement

Standard Action Ranged 10

Target: One spider or drow

Attack: Intelligence, Wisdom, or Charisma vs. Will

Hit: The target spider or drow is dominated until the end of

Venom Master

Prerequisite: 11th level, drow
Benefit: When you hit a creature with your dark-
fire racial power they gains vulnerability 5 poison
until the end of the encounter.

Benefit: When you score a critical hit on an
opportunity attack, the target is also immobilized
(save ends).

Epic Tier Feats

Drow must be level 21 or higher to take the following
feats.

Fist oe Night

Prerequisite: 21st level, drow
Benefit: Once on your turn when you miss a
target that is within your cloud of darkness with a
melee attack, you can make a melee basic attack as a
free action against a different target.

Lolth Blessed

Prerequisite: 21st level, drow
Benefit: Any time you use an action point, you
regain the use of your Lolthtouched racial ability
during the encounter if you’ve already used it (and
can use either cloud of darkness or darkfire).

About the Author

Bruce R. Cordell is an Origins and ENnie award-winning
game designer whose long list of professional credits include
the new Forgotten Realms® Campaign Guide “ Keep on the
Shadowfell™, Draconomicon I: Chromatic DragonsTM and Open
Grave: Secrets of the Undead™. Bruce is also an author of For¬
gotten Realms novels, including Plague of Spells, first book in
the new Abolethic Sovereignty series.

Decer

zr 2009 | DRAGON 382

By Robert J. Schwalb

Illustrations by Wayne England

At the dawn of creation, no difference between the
eladrin and elves existed, and no wickedness sundered
the drow from their light-dwelling kin. They were one
people, bound through common love and life, and
united by the eagerness and curiosity for the natural
world’s many wonders. All this ended during the dread
wars between the Houses, because Lolth’s poison
sundered family, shattered bonds, and altered the
eladrin’s course for all time.

Even as the eladrin rallied against their dark kin,
some chose no side. They sought escape from the
escalating violence and retreated to the mortal world.
The nobles who led the sylvan armies against the dark
host deemed those who fled traitors, and Corellon
vowed vengeance against them for their cowardice.
Sehanine did not share her counterpart’s wrath and
saw their flight as fitting for those who embraced her
tenets. So when the drow were driven into the world’s
Underdark and Lolth was cast into the Abyss, Seha¬
nine sheltered those who abstained from the war as
her chosen people, raising a veil to hide them from
anyone seeking retribution.

Over the intervening generations, these eladrin
lived in secret, forbidden from returning to their

homeland and afraid to range too far from their
hidden redoubts. Only after the ancient wars and
their part in them began to fade did such eladrin ven
ture farther afield. Fey memory is long indeed, and
some eladrin and elves bear the lost tribe, now called
dusk elves, ill will, but many find ways to look beyonc
the ancient offense and take these people for who
they now are.

Dusk elves are represented mechanically by taking
the Dusk Elf Stealth feat. Otherwise, dusk elves are
mechanically identical to normal elves.

Physical Qualities

Dusk elves are a slight folk, and they look almost
identical to their elf counterparts. Where they differ
is in complexion. Although common elves favor tans
and browns, dusk elves are as pale as moonlight,
with fair hair and light blue or violet eyes. They favor
subdued colors and are rarely ostentatious in their
apparel.

Winning Races.-

Dusk Elf

Playing a Dusk Elf

Where common elves are free-spirited and mercu¬
rial, dusk elves are furtive, haunted, and suspicious.
Dusk elves restrict their emotions to a narrow range,
showing little joy and less grief. For all their disincli¬
nation for emotional displays, dusk elves are a people
of deep feeling. When alone or among a trusted few,
they give in to their happiness and sorrow with sur¬
prising intensity.

Dusk elves value their privacy and guard their
lands from trespassers. During private moments, they
reflect on their nature, their people’s history, and the
plans Sehanine has for them. They see the natural
world as a prison, albeit a beautiful one, and pine for
the fabulous cities and verdant fey lands they aban¬
doned long ago.

Those who shrug off this melancholy sometimes
leave their hidden communities to see what the world
has to offer. Adventuring is a common pastime for
these bold souls, and they prove constant, though
detached, comrades. They show little of the joy shared
by other elves. However, dusk elves are sensitive
about their reputations and might go overboard to
prove their loyalty.

Sehanine remains a powerful presence among
the dusk elves, and many exclude other gods on holy
days. Dusk elves forbid worship of Corellon in their
communities, and those who maintain shrines must
do so in secret lest they face exile and ostracism. A
few dusk elves follow Ioun, the Raven Queen, and/or
Melora. Rumors persist about Lolth cults in dusk elf
communities.

Dusk Elf Characteristics: Constant, detached,
furtive, melancholic, quiet, reserved, secretive, sly,
somber

Dusk Elf Backgrounds

A dusk elf has access to the following backgrounds.

Corellon Dedicate: Sehanine’s children chose no
side in the Kin Wars, and their neutrality won them
scorn and self-imposed exile. Since the eladrin held
family ties to be stronger than any other consider¬
ation, some among the refugees disagreed and were
loyal to Corellon, but found themselves swept up in
the flight to the world. You descend from these tragic
dedicates, and though your people were shamed,
your family has remained loyal to Corellon these long
years. How have you kept your devotion secret? Some¬
thing must have led to your leaving the community.
Was it a revelation about your allegiance? Or were
you tired of living a he? How has the faith of your
family served them and you?

Associated Skills: Arcana, Stealth

Gloaming Guardian: Dusk elves protect their
communities from trespass thanks to the gloaming
guardians’ efforts. Deadly sentinels, they guard the
routes into their communities, and if they encounter
intruders, they use their considerable talents to drive
interlopers away. Failing that, the guardians pick such
trespassers off one at a time until they realize their
error and return from where they came. You were
trained to be one such sentinel. Why did you leave
this responsibility? Gloaming guardians are some¬
times the only dusk elves who meet other peoples.
Was an intruder responsible for your break? How do
your dusk elf family and friends see your leaving?

Associated Skills: Intimidate, Stealth

Dusk Envoy: Factions within dusk elf communi¬
ties push for reconciliation with elves and eladrin.
They face strong opposition, but a few communities
have been successful in establishing talks with their
estranged kin. Why were you chosen to be your peo-

Dusk Elf

pie’s envoy? How do you see the larger world? Have
you made any connections beyond your homeland?
Associated Skills: Diplomacy, History

Heroic Tier Teats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
any level who meets the prerequisites.

Dusk Elf Stealth [Elf Bloodline]

Prerequisite: Elf

Benefit: All allies within 6 squares of you that
do not have this feat gain a +1 racial bonus to Stealth
checks.

Dusk Elf Weapon Training

Prerequisite: Dusk Elf Stealth
Benefit: You gain proficiency with simple and
military light blades, and you gain a +2 feat bonus
to damage rolls with these weapons. The bonus
increases to +3 at 11th level and +4 at 21st level.

Gathering Night

Prerequisite: Dusk Elf Stealth
Benefit: Whenever you take the total defense
action while you have any concealment, you become
invisible until the start of your next turn.

Gloaming Ward

Prerequisite: Dusk Elf Stealth
Benefit: The first time you are bloodied in an
encounter, you gain concealment until the end of
your next turn.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Dusk Elf

Sehanine’s Boon

Prerequisite: Dusk Elf Stealth
Benefit: Whenever you spend a healing surge
while you have total concealment, you regain extra hit
points equal to your Wisdom modifier.

Umbral Wind

Prerequisite: Dusk Elf Stealth
Benefit: When you use your second wind, you
gain concealment until the end of your next turn
instead of gaining a +2 bonus to all defenses until the
start of your next turn. If you already have conceal¬
ment, you instead gain total concealment.

Darkening Blade

“I am the dark of the new moon. My sword is the sharp
crescent that heralds the doom you have earned.”

Prerequisite: Dusk Elf Stealth feat

Gloaming guardians protect their communities from
intruders and occasional trespassers, but even the
barrier they create cannot catch all who prowl their
lands. Should their communities come under attack,
the dusk elves flee, vowing vengeance on those who
wrong them. The darkening blades embody the ven¬
geance they swear and to them the dusk elves turn to
destroy their enemies.

As a darkening blade, you have mastered a secret
fighting style perfected through generations spent in
exile. Shadows gather around you so that when you
move, you blend into them, making it hard for your
enemies to track your movements and attack you.
When you strike, you do so with speed and accuracy,
darting in, then melding into the gloom.

Darkening Blade Path Features

Gloaming Action (11th level): Whenever you
spend an action point to make an extra attack, you
can shift your speed into a space adjacent to your
target before the attack.

Night Eyes (11th level): Whenever you have total
concealment, you also have darkvision.

Flitting Shadows (16th level): When you charge
or run, you are treated as being insubstantial for the
purposes of taking damage from opportunity attacks.

Darkening Blade Powers

Your attack slashes the foe, but before it can respond, you dis¬
appear into swirling darkness.

Encounter ♦ Illusion, Weapon
Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature
Attack: Dexterity vs. AC

Hit: 2[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and you become invis¬
ible to the target until the end of your next turn.

1 Gloaming Shroud

Darkening Blade Utility 12 1

Light flees when shadows ei

tvelopyou to whisk you to safety.

Encounter ♦ Illusion

Free Action Personal
Trigger: You miss with an attack

Effect: You shift 3 squares and gain concealment until the end

You strike and dance away, eluding a foe’s counterattacks even
as you set up your next strike.

Daily ♦ Illusion, Weapon

Standard Action Melee weapon

Target: One creature

Attack: Dexterity vs. AC

Hit: 3[W] + Dexterity modifier damage, and you become invis¬
ible to the target (save ends).

Miss: Half damage.

Effect: You can shift 1 square. Until the end of the encounter,
whenever the target moves or shifts while it is adjacent to
you, it takes damage equal to your Dexterity modifier, and
you can shift 1 square as a free action.

About the Author

Robert J. Schwalb is an award-winning game designer
whose more recent work can be found in Martial Power ”
2, Draconomicon “ 2, and Primal Power”. Robert lives in
Tennessee.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Channel Divinity:

The Traveler

By Chris Sims

Illustrations by Tyler Jacobson

“We were their saviors, so they asked us to stay and to be their lords. Perhaps even their
gods. But I told them they should not put their faith in other mortals so, pointing to their
shamed lord and their fat priest. Then the east whispered of mystery to me, so we set our
feet to the road again. That night, we saw smoke in the west. I dreamed of burning temples
and a gallows song on the wind.”

Change is certain. Change leads to need. Need breeds
invention and transformation. Adaptability is required.
This wayward circle is the eternal path of the Traveler,
and so it is the path of those who follow the so-called
Giver of Gifts. Such followers go wherever the uncer¬
tain guidance of the Traveler leads them.

Background: Mad Wanderer

Those who truly devote themselves to the ways of the
Traveler roam the world, accomplishing such tasks
as they find need doing. They manipulate their foes
into disarray before striking. Their actions sometimes
seem amoral, but this is often because the observer
cannot see the deeds’ ultimate ends. Rather than
accept praise or blame, these wanderers disappear as
soon as mystical whim moves them onward. How has
this itinerant lifestyle affected you? What do you care
about, since you have no roots? What methods do you
use to determine the direction you take or deeds you
do? Do you assume, like many other Traveler devo¬
tees, that your mere presence in a situation suggests
you are meant to act as an instrument of change?

Associated Skills: Bluff, Stealth

Paragon Tier Feat

The feat in this section is available to a character of
11th level or higher who meets the prerequisites.

Traveler's Celerity [Divinity]

Prerequisite: llth-level, Channel Divinity class
feature, must worship the Traveler

Benefit: You gain the Channel Divinity power
Traveler’s celerity.

1 Channel Divinity:

Feat Power 1

| Traveler’s Celerity

___

The Traveler blesses those in a bind with an easy escape and
fleet feet. Those who fail to make use of this gift suffer for it.

Encounter ♦ Divine
Minor Action Close burst 5
Target: You or one ally in burst

Effect: The target gains a +2 bonus to speed until the end of
your next turn, and it can make a saving throw against
each slowed, immobilized, or restrained effect. If the target
saves, the condition ends even if a save doesn’t normally
end the condition.

:r 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Channel Divinity.- The Traveler

TRAVELER’S HARLEQUIN

“I am the fingers of the thief in the marketplace. I am the
song that moves your bones without your will. I am the one
without shape, whomyoufear. I am the luck of the daring
that, upon our meeting, you have lost.”

Prerequisite: Trained in Bluff, must have more
than one class, must worship the Traveler

The Traveler is the true lord of Eberron, because
his feet have treaded all its paths, and his eyes have
seen all its sights. Her smiling face and dark cun¬
ning have left all she beheld transformed. It, this god,
has guided your straying feet onward with only the
revelation of the next day’s happenings as your goal.
You have wrought change as change will alongside
your companions. And such change is always for the
better, just as action is better than inaction. You know
this well.

An instigator among your allies, you move the tale
ever forward. The Traveler’s voice always calls you
onward, from over the next hill or through the next
door. With cunning, you rely on the strengths of you
and your allies, and you use them all to manipulate
your foes into the weakest position. What you lack,
you make up for with resourcefulness, unpredictabil¬
ity, and sheer luck.

Traveler’s Harlequin Path
Teatures

Traveler’s Gift of Action (11th level): Whenever
you spend an action point to take an extra action,
you can roll one attack roll or skill check required by
that action twice and use either result. If that attack
roll or skill check misses or fails, you must roll your

next attack roll or skill check twice and use the lower
result.

Master of Many Paths (11th level): You can
choose class-specific multiclass feats from more than
one class. You gain one additional feat, which must be
a class-specific multiclass feat.

Traveler’s Fickle Favor (16th level): After each
extended rest, roll a dl2 and record the result. Until
you take another extended rest, whenever you roll
this same number on an attack roll, ability or skill
check, or saving throw (before adding modifiers), you
can reroll and use either result.

Traveler’s Unpredictable Power (20th level):
You gain the 20th-level power of any other paragon
path for which you qualify or a 19th-level daily attack
power from one of your classes.

Shape of the Traveler Traveler’s Harlequin
_Utility 12

They say the Traveler walks the world unrecognized because it
can appear as anyone. You can do much the same.

Encounter ♦ Divine, Polymorph
Minor Action Personal

Effect: You alter your physical form to take on the appearance
of any humanoid of Small or Medium size. Your clothing
and equipment change size to fit you, but your statistics
do not change. The new form lasts until you return to your
natural form as a minor action or use this power again.

Any creature that attempts to see through your ruse makes
an Insight check opposed by your Bluff check, and you gain
a +5 bonus to your check.

SAME RULES,
D1EEERENT DEITY

Traveler’s Harlequin
Powers

Traveler’s Mummery Traveler’s Harlequin
Attack 11

Your free spirit swells outward as you mock your foes and
caper about the area. They follow your pantomime like pup¬
pets, and your allies follow them.

Encounter ♦ Charm, Divine, Psychic
Standard Action Close burst 2

Effect: Before the attack, you shift 2 squares.

Target: Each enemy in burst
Attack: Your highest ability + 6 vs. Will
Level 21: Your highest ability + 9 vs. Will
Hit: 2d6 + your highest ability modifier psychic damage, and
you slide the target 2 squares, and one ally in the burst can
shift 2 squares.

In other campaign settings, the character ele¬
ments in this article can still apply. Sehanine or
Avandra are closest to the Traveler among the
core D&D deities. Sehanine has more of the
shapechanging and trickster flair, while Avandra
has the “take your fate into your own hands” and
“nothing is permanent” themes down. Brando-
baris, free-spirited exarch of Sheela and thereby
Chauntea, is the most likely counterpart to the
Traveler in Faerun.

OTHER CHARACTER
ELEMENTS

Consider character elements that let you change
your appearance, mess around with probabili¬
ties, deceive others, and/or move freely. When
possible, change the flavor to support your idea
of the Traveler. If any requirement on a character
element requires you to worship another deity,
ask your DM if you can change that deity to the
Traveler. Here are some examples.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Channel Divinity.- The Traveler

1 Paragon Paths

■

1 Epic Destinies

Imposter’s Armor

Adventurer’s Vault

Assassin: Obsidian Stalker

Dragon 379

Dark Wanderer

Martial Power

loun Stone of Perfect Language

Adventurer’s Vault

Avenger: Unveiled Visage

Player's Handbook 2

Deadly Trickster

Player’s Handbook

Liar’s Trinket

Adventurer’s Vault

Avenger: Weapon of Fortune

Divine Power

Eternal Seeker

Player’s Handbook

Luckbender Gloves

Adventurer’s Vault

Barbarian: Wildrunner

Player's Handbook 2

Free Soul

Dragon 376

Luring Withdrawal Armor

Player’s Handbook 2

Bard: Cunning Prevaricator

Player's Handbook 2

Harbinger of Doom

Player's Handbook 2

Moonlight

Adventurer’s Vault

Bard: Karmic Shaper

Arcane Power

Keybearer

Dragon 372

Potion of Mimicry

Adventurer’s Vault

Bard: Student of the Seven

Player’s Handbook 2

Lord of Fate

Arcane Power

Pouncing Beast Armor

Player’s Handbook 2

Druid: Blood Moon Stalker

Player’s Handbook 2

Mythic Spirit

Primal Power

Radiant Temple Uniform

Adventurer’s Vault 2

Druid: Spiral Wind’s Ally

Primal Power

Reincarnate Champion

Primal Power

Ring of Freedom of Movement

Adventurer’s Vault

Druid: Whirling Samara

Primal Power

Revered One

Player’s Handbook 2

Ring of the Forgetful Touch

Adventurer’s Vault

Gnome: Fey Beguiler

Player’s Handbook 2

Robe of Avoidance

Adventurer’s Vault 2

Human: Adroit Explorer

Player’s Handbook 2

1 Magic Items and Boons

Sandals of Avandra

Adventurer’s Vault

Paladin: Gray Guard

Divine Power

Avandra’s Boon of Escape

Dungeon Master’s Guide 2

Sehanine’s Mark of the Dark Moon Adventurer’s Vault

Paladin: Questing Knight

Divine Power

Avandra’s Ring

Adventurer’s Vault

Serpentskin Armor

Adventurer's Vault

Ranger: Horizon Walker

Martial Power

Avandra’s Whisper

Adventurer’s Vault

Shadowdancer’s Mask

Adventurer’s Vault 2

Ranger: Pathfinder

Player’s Handbook

Boots of Caiphon

Adventurer’s Vault 2

Shroud of Ravens

Adventurer’s Vault 2

Rogue: Daring Acrobat

Player’s Handbook

Boots of the Fencing Master

Adventurer’s Vault

Skald’s Armor

Player's Handbook 2

Rogue: Gatecrasher

Manual of the Planes

Boots of Surging Speed

Dungeon Master’s Guide 2

Staff of the Blinking Artifice

Eberron PldVMs Guide

Rogue: Master Infiltrator

Player’s Handbook

Choker of Eloquence

Adventurer’s Vault

Stone of Avandra

Adventurer’s Vault

Shadar-Kai: Abiding Reaper

Dragon Annual

Cil Lyre

Player’s Handbook 2

Trickster’s Mask

Adventurer’s Vault

Shaman: Disciple of the Winds

Primal Power

Defiant Boots

Adventurer’s Vault

Whistle of Warning

Adventurer’s Vault 2

Shaman: Seasons’ Herald

Primal Power

Diplomat’s Table

Adventurer’s Vault 2

About the Author

Swordmage: Ghost Blade

Arcane Power

Eyes of Deception

Adventurer’s Vault

Swordmage: Sage of Fate’s Bonds

Arcane Power

Face-Stealing Ring

Adventurer’s Vault

ine most mysterious oi tne mne-ana-Mx, i^nns aims is
neither rhilH nnr narent to anv nther and in the rnllerted

Warden: Child of the North Wind

Primal Power

False Blood Amulet

Seekers of the Ashen Crown

pantheon. He is the only god said to

i walk the face of Eberron

Warlock: Hexer

Arcane Power

Feinting Gloves

Adventurer’s Vault

in body, as well as spirit, but his mastery of form prevents any

Warlock: Planeshifter

Arcane Power

Fickle Twilight Totem

Eberron Player’s Guide

mortal from ever recognizing him. The sovereign of cunning,

Warlord: Borderlands Marshal

Martial Power

Flute of the Dancing Satyr

Player’s Handbook 2

embrace change, whether physical i
contributed to D&D works too num

rr philosophical. He has
erous to mention here.

Warlord: Commando Captain

Martial Power

Fragrance of Authority

Adventurer’s Vault

Warlord: Twiceborn Leader

Martial Power

Gambler’s Weapon

Adventurer’s Vault

Wizard: Arcane Wayfarer

Arcane Power

Gem of Colloquy

Adventurer’s Vault

Wizard: Unseen Mage

Arcane Power

Goblin Stompers

Adventurer’s Vault

Wizard: Weaver of Chance

Arcane Power

Great Cat Armor

Adventurer’s Vault 2

Hat of Disguise

Adventurer’s Vault

Hexer’s Rod

Adventurer’s Vault 2

2009 | DRAGON 382

L ■{

Dark Awakenings

Camping in a
world full of
supernatural
dangers is
rarely safe.
You’re about to
find out why.

by Chris Sims

illustrations by
Wayne England

cartography by
Jason A. Engle

Dark Awakenings

PLAY MATERIALS

This adventure assumes you are familiar with the
D&D game rules. It also assumes you have access to
the rules from the Player’s Handbook or the D&D Test
Drive . All other information you need is provided here.

Basic Setup

♦ Create a lst-level character or use one of those
provided with this adventure. Do not equip your
character with more than weapons and armor. Your
character also starts with two healing potions on your
belt, or one if your role is leader. You may find other
useful items as you adventure.

♦ You also have access to Splug, your character’s
goblin sidekick, during some or all of the encounters.
Familiarize yourself with Splug (see page 87). Splug
looks to your character for guidance and protection,
but he can be helpful in the quest, especially if your
character is a leader or someone who benefits from
combat advantage or similar tactical edges.

♦ The adventure refers to your character and
Splug as “heroes.” Whenever you see that word or a
variation of it such as “hero,” the adventure is talking
about your character and/or Splug.

Encounter Format

Basic Play

Take a moment to familiarize yourself with the Basic
Monster Tactics. Specific encounters expand on these
assumptions. The Monster Abilities section is only
important if you need to know more about a crea¬
ture’s specific capabilities during an encounter.

The adventure includes small maps you can print
out and markers for the heroes and the monsters. Use
these to help you play.

Unless otherwise indicated by circumstances, you
can take as many short rests as you want in a given
area when no monsters are nearby to bother you.

You cannot take an extended rest during this
adventure.

Keep a record of what you leave behind and where.
If you return to an area where you left items, they will
probably still be there.

If your character falls unconscious and Splug
cannot rescue you, your adventure is over. If Splug
might rescue you, attempt death saving throws as
normal and act as Splug until your character regains
consciousness. If an encounter ends and you are
unconscious, assume Splug wakes you up.

The numbered paragraphs which describe your
choices during the adventure are gathered at the end.

When you’re ready, go to encounter 1, page 77.

Setup: This section tells you what’s in an encoun¬
ter and how to begin it. It also describes the initial
situation.

Options: During an encounter, you can try any
options shown here in addition to normal combat
rules options.

Monster Statistics Blocks: These are essentially
monster character sheets used to run the monster
during a fight.

Monster Tactics: In addition to the Basic Monster
Tactics, use these to determine how the monsters act.

Features of the Area: If you need to know how
terrain or another aspect of the encounter area works
and that information isn’t in your Options, look here.

Conclusion: For more options after combat con¬
cludes, see this section.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

Basic Monster Tactics

During play, you move and act for your character nor¬
mally, but you also move the monsters and carry out
their actions. Here are some guidelines that apply to
every encounter.

♦ Specific tactics refer to “targets.” Unless your
character is controlling a monster through the use of
a power, the monster considers heroes to be targets.

If your character is controlling a monster, you deter¬
mine what it considers to be a target while you control
the monster.

♦ Consult the area map in each encounter for the
starting location of the heroes and the monsters.

♦ When combat begins, roll initiative for each
hero and each monster. Record the initiative order.

♦ Monsters move as needed to place themselves so
they can attack. If they have ranged attacks, they will
stay as far away as possible while still being in close
range. If they have only melee attacks, they try to
move adjacent. They always attack the nearest target.
If heroes are equally close, the monster attacks or
moves toward your character.

♦ Avoid moving or acting in any way that provokes
opportunity attacks or triggers marks unless the mon¬
ster has no other option.

♦ Monsters always try to move or shift into flank¬
ing positions for their melee attacks when possible.

♦ Specific tactics might tell you a monster attacks
a random target among multiple targets. If this hap¬
pens, roll ld6. On a result of 1-3, the monster attacks
your character; on a result of 4-6, the monster attacks
Splug.

Monster Abilities

Here are a few definitions of monster abilities for your
reference while playing this adventure.

Blindsight goes out to an indicated number of
squares. Within the given number of squares, blind-
sight allows a monster to “see” creatures and objects
even if it’s blind and even if the subject is hidden or
invisible.

A blind creature relies on special senses, such as
blindsight, to see within a specified range, beyond
which the creature can’t see. The creature is immune
to gaze attacks and cannot be blinded. It can hear
where a hero is and move to attack that hero, unless
the hero succeeds on a Stealth check opposed by the
monster’s Perception check.

A creature that has a climb speed can move on
vertical surfaces at that speed without making Ath¬
letics checks to climb. While climbing, the creature
ignores difficult terrain and doesn’t grant combat
advantage because of climbing. Spider climb allows
the creature to travel along surfaces such as ceilings
without making any check.

A creature that has a fly speed without (hover)
flies 2 or more squares on each of its turns. If it
cannot do so, it crashes to the ground, landing
prone. While flying, such a creature can neither
make opportunity attacks nor shift. It only provokes
opportunity attacks for leaving its starting square
each turn.

Hover allows a creature that has a fly speed to
shift and make opportunity attacks while flying. It
can also keep flying without moving on its turn. It still
crashes if knocked prone and provokes opportunity
attacks for leaving a starting square without shifting.

A monster’s encounter power can only be used
once per encounter, just like a hero’s encounter
power.

If a creature is immune to something, it takes no
damage from attacks that deal that type of damage.

Resist indicates a number and a damage type. If
an attack that has the indicated damage type hits the
monster, reduce the damage by that amount (mini¬
mum 0 damage).

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

ENCOUNTER 1

Setup

Read:

You dream of shaking earth and screams, the smell of rot
and dark laughter. Burning eyes glare back at you in the
dream. The vision changes with the smell of turned earth
and wet leaves and a crushing weight on your chest. You
feel warmth nearby and see a source of blurred, yellow light.
Then something cracks loudly, followed by a shrill scream.

You wake with a start, still in your bedroll, and realize
a thin, black root grasps you by your legs and torso. It’s
pulling you toward a large chasm in the ground on one
side of what appears to be a ransacked campsite under a
looming hillside on all sides except the east. The warm
light turns out to be a campfire in the dimness of dawn,
crackling as it slowly dies. Other roots reach out through
the camp.

You remember that someone else should be here, your
companions, but you know little else, especially why you’re
here. Another shrill scream draws your eye to a small form
struggling with another vine. It’s a goblin in rather fine
clothing and armor for his ilk.

His bulging eyes fall onyou. “Please help poor Splug!
Please!” He says a name, andyou remember that it’s yours
and that Splug is your friend. You and he are about 15 or
20 feet from the edge of the hole. It’s time to act.

♦ Splug (S)

♦ You (PC)

♦ 6 tainted roots (R)

At the start of the battle, heroes have no weapon
drawn. Combat begins now, and it ends only if you
defeat all the monsters or you are defeated. Alterna¬
tively, if you’re not grabbed, you can run away—see
Conclusion.

Options

Campfire: If a creature enters the campfire
square, go to 065, page 92.

Chasm: You can look into the chasm from an adja¬
cent square. See Conclusion.

Knowledge Checks: You can take a minor action
to assess your situation with a DC 15 Arcana (trained
only), Dungeoneering, or Nature skill check. If you

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

succeed on an Arcana check, go to 133, page 98. If
you succeed on a Nature or Dungeoneering check, go
to 027, page 89. If you fail, you learn nothing useful
and cannot use the same skill again for this purpose
in this encounter.

Tents: If a hero is adjacent to a tent and has a free
hand, the hero can grab a tent as a minor action. If
you do, go to 103, page 96.

Trees: If a hero is adjacent to a tree and has a free
hand, the hero can grab a tree as a minor action. If
this happens, go to 081, page 94.

6 Tainted Roots (R) Level 1 Controller Mir

Medium aberrant animate (blind, plant) XP 25

Initiative +3 Senses Perception +6; blindsigbt 5

HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.

AC 15; Fortitude 13, Reflex 14, Will 12
Speed 2, climb 2 (spider climb)

© Grasp (standard; must not be grabbing an enemy; at-will)
Reach 2; +6 vs. AC; 4 damage, and the target is grabbed
and pulled adjacent to the root.

+ Drag (standard; at-will)

Targets an enemy grabbed by the tainted root; +5 vs.
Fortitude; 2 damage, and the tainted root shifts 1 square
and slides the target 1 square to a square adjacent to the
tainted root.

Snaky Body

A tainted root ignores difficult terrain.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -

Str 14 (+2) Dex 17 (+3) Wis 12 (+1)

Con 14 (+2) Inti (-5) Cha 4 (-3)

Monster Tactics

When a tainted root has a standard action, is
adjacent to one or more targets, and it isn’t grabbing a
target, it makes a grasp attack against a random adja¬
cent target. If the tainted root is grabbing a target, it
makes a drag attack against that target.

A tainted root attempts to drag a target it is grab¬
bing into the chasm. When a hero falls (or jumps) into
the chasm, make note of the number of the square
where that hero fell. If you fall in before Splug, go to
007, page 88. If Splug falls in before you, go to 022,
page 89. If you fall or jump in anytime thereafter,
make a note of the numbered square you fall or jump
into, then go to 058, page 92.

A tainted root does not willingly enter the camp¬
fire square.

Features of the Area

Campfire: The campfire is dying but hot. It illu¬
minates the campsite with bright light.

Tents: Corners of a tent do not block movement,
but tent squares are difficult terrain. A creature
inside a tent cannot be attacked unless its attacker is
inside the tent, too.

Trees: Tree squares are difficult terrain.

Conclusion

Chasm: If you investigate the chasm, go to 131,
page 98.

Run Away: You can run away to the east. If you
do, go to 014, page 89.

Search the Campsite: If you take a moment to
search the campsite, go to 113, page 96.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

ENCOUNTER 2

Setup

Leaving Splug Alone: If Splug spent more than 3
rounds in this encounter alone, go to 052, page 91.

When you arrive and look around, read:

You’re in a large cave. Ambient green light allows you to see
clearly. The chasm is above you now, an opening in the cave
roof about 10 feet up. You’re in a luminous green stream of
water that flows from a hole in the northern cave wall, and
the cave slopes upward toward that direction. The current is
pretty strong. Part of the cave to the west is obviously hewn
stone, and another stream flows from that passage. From
your vantage, you can’t see much of that tunnel.

With a squelching sound, a sickly-looking blue ooze
surfaces and starts to approach. Movement in other parts
of the cave indicates more creatures, including a couple
of those black, mobile roots near the southern wall. The
stream plunges into another cavern there, roiling fiercely.

Nearby, a long, inanimate root dangles in the water,
looking like you could swing on it or hold onto it.

♦ 2 tainted roots (R)

♦ 4 tainted oozes (O)

♦ Stream exit (X)

♦ Dangling Root (D)

Combat begins now.

Rushing Stream

The stream is a hazard to all creatures except the

-^ _

Rope: If you dropped a rope into the cavern,
heroes can climb back up it (go to 073, page 93). Any
monsters left here give pursuit.

Monster Tactics

Rushing Stream

The stream drags you toward the cavern into which the water

Trigger: A creature starts its turn in the water.

Attack: +5 vs. Fortitude

Flit: The target slides 2 squares toward the “X” squares, ending
the slide in a water square.

If a hero starts a turn in an X square, the hero is sub¬
ject to the attack (Splug first). If the attack hits you,
go to 083, page 94. If the attack hits Splug, go to 064,
page 92.

Options

Dangling Root: If a hero is adjacent to a root and
has a free hand, the hero can grab the root as a minor
action (go to 018, page 89, to do so). The root also
looks like a hero could swing on it; to try, go to 089,
page 94. A hero can also climb up the root; go to 031,
page 90, to do that.

Knowledge Checks: You can take a minor action
to assess your situation with a DC 15 Arcana (trained
only), Dungeoneering, or Nature skill check. If you
succeed on an Arcana check, go to 122, page 97. If
you succeed on a Nature or Dungeoneering check, go
to 048, page 91. If you fail, you learn nothing useful
and cannot use the same skill again for this purpose
in this encounter.

Northern Passage: If you move so you have clear
line of sight into the northern passage, go to 039,
page 90.

Tainted Roots

Whenever a tainted root is adjacent to one or more
targets, has a standard action, and it isn’t grabbing a
target, it makes a grasp attack against a random adja¬
cent target. If the tainted root is grabbing a target, it
makes a drag attack against that target.

A tainted root does not move, so it will start its next
turn in water unless it is grabbing a target. It climbs to
avoid the water.

A tainted root attempts to drag a target it is grab¬
bing into the water close to a stream exit square (X).

Rough Rocks: Rock squares marked with triangles
(A) are difficult terrain.

Tainted Oozes

Whenever a tainted ooze is adjacent to one or more
targets and has a standard action, it makes a slam
attack against a random adjacent target. If it hits, it
slides the target toward a square marked X.

Teatures oe the Area

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

2 Tainted Roots (R) Level 1 Minion Controller

Medium aberrant animate (blind, plant) XP 25 each

Initiative +3 Senses Perception +6; blindsight 5

HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.

AC 15; Fortitude 13, Reflex 14, Will 12
Speed 2, climb 2 (spider climb)

© Grasp (standard; must not be grabbing an enemy; at-will)
Reach 2; +6 vs. AC; 4 damage, and the target is grabbed
and pulled adjacent to the root.

•)* Drag (standard; at-will)

Targets an enemy grabbed by the tainted root; +5 vs.
Fortitude; 2 damage, and the tainted root shifts 1 square
and slides the target 1 square to a square adjacent to the
tainted root.

Snaky Body

A tainted root ignores difficult terrain.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -

Str 14 (+2) Dex 17 (+3) Wis 12 (+1)

BIpk-i) |

4 Tainted Oozes (O) Level 1 Minion Controller

Medium aberrant animate (blind, ooze) XP 25 each

Initiative +2 Senses Perception +4; blindsight 5

HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion.

AC 13; Fortitude 14, Reflex 13, Will 12
Immune gaze, pull/push/slide; Resist 5 acid
Speed 4, climb 2, swim 2
© Slam (standard; at-will) ♦ Acid

+4 vs. Fortitude; 3 acid damage, and the target slides 2
squares.

Oozy Body

A tainted ooze ignores difficult terrain.

Alignment Unaligned Languages -

Str 12 (+1) Dex 14 (+2) Wis 12 (+1)

Conclusion

Frog Pipe: Investigate the sparkly eyes by going to
043, page 91. A hero can climb into this pipe from an
adjacent square by going to 108, page 96.

Investigation: You can attempt the same knowl¬
edge checks detailed in the Options section. You can
also search the area by making a Perception check
and going to 015, page 89.

Rope: If you climbed down into this area using a
rope, see options. Also, if you tied the rope to the tree
closest to the chasm in encounter 1, you can cut off 20
feet of excess rope and carry it with you.

Stream Exit: Someone standing adjacent to the X
squares can easily see an open cavern with light at the
other end. A hero can dive through by attempting an
Athletics check and going to 026, page 89.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Dark Awakenings

ENCOUNTER 3

Setup

Heroes arrive in the Start Area.

Leaving Splug Alone: If Splug spent more than 2
rounds in this encounter alone, go to 001, page 88.

When you arrive, read:

You’ve arrived in another natural cave illuminated by green
light. Agiowing green streamflows into the chamber at
the northwest and flows out again through a gravel-filled
opening in the east. A pool of similar liquid has collected
in the southwestern corner, bubbling and churning as if
disturbedfrom underneath. Other than some rubble, the
room’s only other feature is the broken wall to the west,
leading to what looks like a landing of worked stone.

Near the pool along the southern wall, you spot a black,
plantlike pod with writhing tendrils much like the tainted
roots you’ve fought before. A chirping sound, barely audible
above the water’s gurgling, draws your attention to sizable
green bats hanging on the walls.

♦ 3 tainted bats (B)

♦ 1 tainted root pod (R)

Be sure to remember any effect the swim into this
room had on the heroes. When the heroes arrive,
it’s clear the monsters aren’t immediately aware of
intruders. Each hero can attempt a Stealth check
by going to 085, page 94, or you can begin combat
normally.

Options

Glowing Pool: If a monster enters the pool, go
to 046, page 91. You can use a standard action to
throw, drop, or poke an object, such as a loose rock
from the floor, into the pool by going to 119, page 97.
When any hero first enters the pool, go to 90, page
95. When a hero starts a turn in the pool, go to 030,
page 90.

Knowledge Checks: You can take a minor action
to assess your situation with a DC 15 Arcana (trained
only), Dungeoneering, or Nature check. If you suc¬
ceed on an Arcana check, go to 005, page 88. If you
succeed on a Nature or Dungeoneering check, go to
051, page 91. If you fail, you learn nothing useful and
cannot use the same skill again for this purpose in
this encounter.

Worked Stone Area: When you move adjacent to
this area, attempt a Perception check and go to 114,
page 96. If a hero enters or touches a square in this
area, assuming you know nothing to the contrary, go
to 097, page 95.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

Monster Tactics

Tainted Bats

Instead of moving as basic monster tactics dictate, a
tainted bat uses flybv attack whenever possible.

If it crashes, the tainted bat stands up on its turn,
then it attacks from the ground if flying away would
provoke opportunity attacks. It flies again as soon as it
can do so without provoking an opportunity attack.

Tainted Root Pod

Whenever the tainted root pod has one or more
targets in reach, is not grabbing a target, and has a
standard action, it makes a root lash attack against a
random adjacent target.

Whenever the tainted root pod has a target
grabbed and has a standard action, it uses constrict on
the target it is grabbing.

Whenever the tainted root pod grabs a target or
is grabbing a target, it uses pulling roots as its move
action that turn. It pulls the grabbed target toward the
worked stone area to the west. If it successfully pulls a
hero to that area, go to 097, page 95.

Features of the Area

Glowing Pool: Pool squares are difficult terrain.
Rough Rocks: Rock squares marked with tri¬
angles (A) are difficult terrain.

Stream: The stream squares in the north are dif¬
ficult terrain.

Conclusion

Glowing Pool: See Options.

Investigation: You can attempt the same knowl¬
edge checks detailed in the Options section. You can
also search the area by making a Perception check
and going to 075, page 93.

Tainted Root Pod: If you kill the pod, go to 024,
page 89.

Worked Stone Area: See Options.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

ENCOUNTER 4

Setup

When you arrive and get a look around, read:

This chamber is shaped like one-quarter of a circle with a
small chamber attached in the west and an area of rune-
covered stonework in a wide alcove to the east. Near the
center of the arc of the western wall is a glowing circle of
arcane sigils with drifts of dark dust on it. It illuminates the
room with bright, blood-red light.

In the open doorway to the western chamber, a dark,
thin humanoid sways, growls, and gurgles, its green
glowing eyes sweeping the room. Behind it, the light of the
sigil reveals a ladder in the shadows of the small chamber.
Two shapes, each like the upper half of a human made of
dark smoke,float in the corners.

The humanoid groans, and the wispy shapes shriek.

♦ 2 tainted wisps (W)

♦ 1 tainted zombie (Z)

This area is open to encounter area 3—you can con¬
nect the maps, if you want to do so, by laying the
8-square runed start area over the 8-square worked
stone area of encounter 3.

Combat begins as soon as you enter this chamber.

Options

Knowledge Checks: You can take a minor action
to assess your situation with a DC 15 Arcana (trained
only) or Religion (trained only) check. If you succeed
on the Arcana check, go to 136, page 98. If you suc¬
ceed on the Religion check, go to 013, page 88. If

you fail, you learn nothing useful and cannot use the
same skill again for this purpose in this encounter.

Ladder: If a hero moves within 2 squares of the
ladder, go to 068, page 92.

Sigil Circle: If a hero enters the circle—any square
the circle touches—go to 104, page 96. If a hero hasn’t
entered the circle by the first time a monster attacks
from a square the circle touches go to 099, page 95.
When a wisp drops to 0 hit points or a hero dies in
the circle, go to 034, page 90.

Monster Tactics

Tainted Zombie

If the tainted zombie starts its turn adjacent to an
immobilized target, the zombie uses its bite attack on
that target.

If the tainted zombie is reduced to 0 hp, go to 082,
page 94 when its next turn would start.

Conclusion

Ladder: If you haven’t examined the ladder before
now, you can move close to it and go to 068, page 92.

Investigation: You can attempt the same knowl¬
edge checks detailed in the Options section. You can
also search the area by making a Perception check
and going to 050, page 91.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

ENCOUNTER 5

Setup

When you arrive, read:

This area is another natural cavern, with dim light coming
from a nearby room of worked stone to the north. A natural
column blocks your view of that area. Water cascades down
the wall to the east and into the hole here. The terrain is
rocky, and further to the east, a deep darkness pervades.
Clusters of strange mushrooms grow to the south, lending a
fungal smell to the wet scent of the cave. A strange, pungent
odor that has an acidic edge seeps from the north.

If the hero that came up first has at least 15 feet of
rope, the rope can be dropped to the other hero by
going to 002, page 88.

Options

Darkness: If you have darkvision, go to 054, page
92. If you have a light source, go to 092, page 95. To
enter the darkness with light, go to 036, page 90. To
enter without light, go to 112, page 96. If you have
reason to wonder whether monsters can see in the
darkness, go to 125, page 97.

Mushrooms: These mushrooms smell earthy but
pleasant. You can attempt a Nature or Dungeoneering
check to examine them (standard action) by going to
057, page 92. You can taste one (go to 020,19). Or
you can ignore the mushrooms and get back to other
options.

Worked Stone Area: If you look or move into this
area, go to 049, page 91.

Features of the Area

A 3

Hole: This hole drops 15 feet (ldlO damage from
a fall) to encounter 2, page 88.

Mushrooms: Mushrooms are normal terrain, but
if a creature enters a mushroom square, go to 129,
page 97.

Rough Rocks: Rocks marked with triangles (A)
are difficult terrain.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

ENCOUNTER 6

Setup

When you can see into the area, read:

This room is carved from the rock with hints that it too was
once a natural cavern. Magical orbs of light floating in the
northern corners reveal two small tables and a larger one,
all of them covered in papers and strange glass devices and
containers. To the west is a bookcase, filled floor to ceiling,
in the center of the wall. On the northern wall is a much
longer case filled with books, scrolls, and curiosities. To the
south, the room has a natural column and opens into a
cavern where you can hear waterflowing.

A skeletally thin, gray-skinned humanoid in robes works
at the long table in the center of the room. His eyes glow,
and it seems unlikely he’s alive.

^-^

Two shapes, each like the upper half of a human made
of dark smoke, float along the northern wall, near the
bookcase there.

♦ 1 mage wight (M)

♦ 2 tainted wisps (W)

Combat begins if you initiate it. You can instead wait,
giving up any surprise you might have (go to 124,
page 97).

Options

Knowledge Checks: You can take a minor action
to assess your situation with a DC 15 Arcana (trained
only) or Religion (trained only) check. If you succeed
on the Arcana check, go to 010, page 88. If you suc¬
ceed on the Religion check, go to 084, page 94. If
you fail, you learn nothing useful and cannot use the
same skill again for this purpose in this encounter.

Run Away: You can flee through any exit you
know of. The monsters pursue you into the new area.

For an example, see Southern Exit.

Southern Exit: You can take the fight through the
southern exit. If you do, add the map and information
for encounter 5 to this area. The monsters pursue
fleeing heroes.

Tables: To move into a table square, you must
clamber atop a table as a move action or jump onto
the table as part of a move action. Jumping up on a
table instead requires 1 square of movement (Athlet¬
ics DC 12). Failing this check means you stop moving
and your move action ends. If you fail by 5 or more,
you also fall prone in the square you started the jump
in. If you successfully move through table squares, go
to 127, page 97.

Medium natural humanoid (undead), wight

Initiative +3 Senses Perception +6; darkvision

HP 46; Bloodied 23
AC 17; Fortitude 14, Reflex 15, Will 16
Immune disease, poison; Resist 5 necrotic

Speed 6, climb 3_

+8 vs. AC; 2d6 + 2 necrotic damage, and the mage wight
pushes the target 2 squares. If the target is immobilized, it
also loses a healing surge.

•Y Deathchill Bolt (standard; at-will) 4 Cold, Necrotic
Ranged 10; +7 vs. Reflex; 1d8 + 3 necrotic damage, and
the target is immobilized (save ends).

4? Spirit-Chilling Burst (standard; encounter) 4 Cold, Necrotic
Close burst 2; targets immobilized enemies; +6 vs.
Fortitude; 1d6 + 3 cold and necrotic damage, the target
loses a healing surge, and two deathchill wisps appear in
squares adjacent to the target. The wisps act just after the
mage wight in the initiative order. Miss; 1d6 + 3 cold and
necrotic damage, and one deathchill wisp appears next to
the target.

Alignment Evil Languages Common
Skills Arcana +9, Dungeoneering +5, Nature +5
Str 10 (+1) Dex 14 (+3) Wis 9 (+0)

Con 14 (+3) Int 16 (+4) Cha 18 (+5)

Initiative +7 Senses Perception +2; darkvison

HP 1; a missed attack never damages a minion; see incorporeal
form.

AC 15; Fortitude 12, Reflex 14, Will 13
Immune disease, poison
Speed fly 6 (hover)

Incorporeal Form (when an attack hits the tainted wisp;
encounter)

Roll d20; on a 10+, the tainted wisp takes no damage.
Alignment Chaotic evil Languages -
Str 11 (+0) Dex 16 (+3) Wis 15 (+2)

Con 13 (+1) Int 4 (-3) Cha 10 (+0)

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

Monster Tactics
Mage Wight

Use deathchill bolt if able to attack a target that
isn’t immobilized. Do so even if it might provoke an
opportunity attack or another sort of attack. However,
before using deathchill bolt, the wight tries to move so
it won’t be attacked for making this ranged attack.

Use claw only if unable to leave melee safely to use
deathchill bolt or if the wight is adjacent to an immobi¬
lized target when it starts its turn.

Use spirit-chilling burst if the mage wight can attack
all targets in the room by using the power.

Use spirit-chilling burst if the wight is bloodied, has
access to the power, and has even one immobilized

As part of a move action, duck behind a table or
bookcase to gain cover when possible.

Features oe the Area

Bookcases: These floor-to-ceiling shelves are
blocking terrain for determining cover.

Tables: A table is a low obstacle for determining

Conclusion

If the heroes defeat the monsters, go to 059, page 92.
If not, your adventure has ended in defeat.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

SPLUG

Initiative +5 Senses Perception +1; low-light vision

HP 26; Bloodied 13; Healing Surges 7
AC 16; Fortitude 13, Reflex 15, Will 13
Speed 6; see also mobile attack and goblin tactics
© Longsword (standard; at-will) ♦ Weapon
+8 vs. AC; 1d8 + 2 damage.

Y Dagger (standard; at-will) ♦ Weapon
Ranged 5/10; +8 vs. AC; 1d4 + 3 damage.

Cringe (standard; at-will)

Splug shrinks away from combat, gaining a +2 bonus to his
defenses until the start of his next turn. An ally can make
an at-will or charge attack as a free action in his stead.
Goblin Tactics (immediate reaction, when missed by a melee
attack; at-will)

Splug shifts 1 square.

Combat Advantage

Splug deals 1d6 extra damage when he hits a target he has
combat advantage against.

Alignment Unaligned Languages Common, Goblin

Skills Athletics +7, Bluff+7, Stealth +10, Thievery +10
Str 14 (+2) Dex 17 (+3) Wis 12 (+1)

Con 13 (+1) Int 10 (+0) Cha 15 (+2)

Equipment leather armor, longsword, 2 daggers, healing potion

Playing Splug

On each of Splug’s turns, he likes to use cringe when
he’s sure doing so will give you a free attack. To do so,
Splug moves (or shifts, if that’s safer) away from the
monsters, then he uses his cringe power. If using cringe
won’t allow you to attack, Splug attacks with his long¬
sword or dagger.

Splug prefers to move into positions that give him
combat advantage against a target. He also prefers to
attack targets granting him combat advantage.

Whenever he can help it, Splug avoids moving into
a position where monsters are coming at him from
two or more sides. He ignores this preference when
he can gain combat advantage by doing so.

Splug won’t voluntarily go anywhere alone or first.
He also won’t give you his equipment, although he
will carry yours for you. During the game, you can try
to convince Splug to do something he wouldn’t nor¬
mally do, such as give you his healing potion or climb
into an unknown area ahead of you. To do so, note
where you are, then go to 116, page 96.

Splug likes you. If you’re unconscious and he has
a healing potion, he does his best to administer the
potion to you even at great risk to his own hide.

During a short rest, Splug heals to full normal hit
points if he can do so. He likes to save one surge for
an upcoming encounter, but he does so only if using
that surge during combat might benefit him more
than using it during the short rest. O

About the Author

Chris Sims is a game designer whose recent credits include
the 4th Edition Monster Manual and Dungeon Master’s Guide, as
well as the Forgotten Realms Campaign Guide.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

NUMBERED

PARAGRAPHS

001: Splug signals you from his hiding place in the
spot indicated on this map. The monsters haven’t
noticed him. Go back to encounter 2, page 79, and
continue it.

002: The climb up the pipe on the rope requires no
check to succeed. Go back to encounter 5, page 84,
and continue it.

003: Splug disappears into the other cavern men¬
tioned in the room’s description. You can go back
to encounter 2, page 79, and continue it, or you can
instead follow Splug by going back to encounter 2,
moving adjacent to the Stream Exit, and using that
part of the Conclusion, page 80.

-^_

whichever is most appropriate to how you entered the
room.

004: You throw the drink on a monster. Make this
attack:

Voyvod’s Drink

The sweet, green liquid hurtles at your foe.

Attack: +5 vs. Reflex

Hit: i dl 0 acid and poison damage, and ongoing S acid
damage (save ends).

Miss: Half damage.

Go back to encounter 6, page 85, and continue it.

005: Weak residual magic pervades the area,
although the pool in this room seems particularly
strong. The monsters have been tainted magically. If
you spend a minor action to investigate further, go
to 078, page 93. Otherwise, go back to encounter 3,
page 81, and continue it.

006: The trap door opens easily, revealing a narrow
passage that leads away into darkness. Mounting the
ledge from the ladder to enter the passage requires
a move action. If you proceed down the passage, go
to 091, page 95. Or you can go back to encounter 4,
page 83, and continue it.

007: You plummet into the chasm, falling into water,
taking ldlO damage from the fall, and landing prone.
(If a tainted root is dragging you, it dies from the fall.)
If the fall reduced you to 0 hit points, you quickly
drown and your adventure is over. Otherwise, go to
086, page 94.

008: If each Stealth check result was 14 or higher,
go to encounter 6, page 85, and start with surprise
on your side. Otherwise, just go to encounter 6.
Choose the western start area or northern start area,

009: You pry out the gems easily in 2 rounds, and
nothing dreadful happens. You now possess two
green jewels worth 50 gp each. Go back to encounter
2’s Conclusion, page 80, and choose another option.

Oil: The runes seem charged with energy. You can
try to disarm them using Arcana (trained only) or
Thievery, a process that takes at least three successful
checks requiring a standard action each. The DC for
each check is 15. If you fail three times or fail once
by 5 or more, go to 097, page 95. If you give up the
attempt, go back to encounter 3, page 81, and con¬
tinue it. Success leads you to 028, page 89.

012: Voyvod says, “Talk is at an end. Now, you will
submit yourself to us. Come, drink this, and sleep
until I have use for you.” Voyvod takes a cup from the
table. If Splug is with you, go to 067, page 92. Other¬
wise, go to 105, page 96.

013: The creatures here are undead tainted by foul
magic. Armed with your knowledge, you can deal 2
extra damage to them the first time you hit, or double
that if you hit with a power that has the radiant
keyword. If you spend a minor action to investigate
further, go to 041, page 91. Otherwise, go back to
encounter 4, page 83, and continue it.

010: Strangely, magical emanations are not particu¬
larly strong here. Go back to encounter 6, page 85,
and continue it.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Dark Awakenings

014: You escape the frightful campsite and make
it back to a nearby town. After a night in a warm
inn bed, you awaken with your memory intact and
the realization that you left your comrades to an
unknown fate in the chasm. You can return to the
chasm to rescue them by going back to encounter l’s
Conclusion, page 78, and choosing another option, or
you can end your adventure here. If Splug is with you,
he can join you. If he was pulled into the chasm and
you abandoned him, perhaps you’ll be able to rescue
him along with your lost companions.

015: It takes 1 minute (10 rounds) to look around the
area and attempt a Perception check. You can take
longer if you want-5 minutes allows you to take 10
on the check. On a check result of 15 or higher go to
126, page 97. Otherwise, go to 130, page 97.

016: Undead are normally immune to poison, but
this poison has a hint of acid. It might actually harm
Voyvod! Go back to 033, page 90.

017: The pool in the southwestern corner is definitely
magical. You suspect it manipulates life force in a
positive way. Return to encounter 3, page 88, and
continue it.

018: Grabbing the root grants a +2 bonus to Fortitude
against the rushing stream hazard. Go back to encoun¬
ter 2, page 79, and continue it.

019: You find nothing of interest. Go back to encoun¬
ter 4’s Conclusion, page 83, and choose another
option.

020: The mushroom actually tastes pretty good. The
eater gains 10 temporary hit points (until expended
or the end of your next short rest) but takes a -2 pen¬
alty to saving throws (save ends during combat, or this
lasts until the end of your next short rest). Go back to
encounter 5, page 84, and continue it.

021: “Our magic has infused the creatures here. As
we work, our creatures shall multiply. You shall be
among them soon.” Go back to 124, page 97, and
continue.

022: Splug squeals like a terrified pig, and he disap¬
pears into the chasm. He splashes down, taking ldlO
damage, followed by disconcerting silence. At least
the root that dragged him into the chasm apparently
died from the fall. Go back to encounter 1, page 77,
and continue it.

023: You sense that the magical emanations are
stronger from the northern passage than any other
part of the room. From the auras of the oozes, you can
tell they have a magical origin, possibly alchemical.
Go back to encounter 2, page 79, and continue it.

024: All tainted roots in this adventure die. If you go
to an area that has tainted roots in it, those roots are
dead and no longer a threat. Return to the conclusion
of encounter 3, page 82.

025: You arrive at encounter 6, page 85, in the square
shown here (PC); Splug arrives in the square marked
(S). The monsters are aware of you.

027: These black roots are natural roots tainted by
some foul magic, and they’re mindless. They likely
have a central control in some larger plantlike entity.
Killing that creature is likely to render these roots
harmless again. Go back to encounter 1, page 77, and
continue it.

028: Runes flare, pushing the rocks and dust off of
them. The seemingly solid wall ahead of you vanishes.
Go to encounter 4, page 83. You start in the start
area, and you have surprised the monsters there.
Remaining bats from encounter 3 follow you, but if
the tainted root pod still lives, it does not.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Dark Awakenings

029: Voyvod hurls the potion on the floor and attacks
you! Go back to encounter 6, page 85, and begin
combat.

030: The hero regains 2 hit points. Each hero can
regain a maximum of 14 hit points from the pool
during this adventure. Go back to encounter 3, page
81, and continue it.

031: Athletics DC 10 to climb the root from the
cavern floor. If climbing root D, go to 070, page 93.
Otherwise, go to 117, page 96.

032: You find nothing of interest. Go back to encoun¬
ter 3’s Conclusion, page 82, and choose another
option.

033: Having taken the drink, which is green and
smells sweet and acidic, you can drink (go to 121,
page 97), refuse to drink (go to 088, page 94), exam¬
ine the drink (go to 044, page 91), pretend you intend
to drink (go to 038, page 90), or attack (go back to
encounter 6, page 85, and start combat). Note this
entry for later so you can do more with the drink
(standard action in combat). During the fight, you can
throw the drink on (as a melee attack) or at (ranged
attack; range 5 squares) a monster by going to 004,
page 88.

034: The creature disintegrates into fine black dust,
like that already collected in the circle. Go back to
encounter 4, page 83, and continue it.

035: Splug says, “You da boss!” You get what you want
out of him, although he seems a little sulky if you
intimidated him. Go back to what you were doing.

036: Light only illuminates what you see on the map
below. If you move further into the darkness, go to
076, page 93. Otherwise, go back to encounter 5, page
84, and continue it.

037: You can fasten the rope to a tree and then use
it to climb down (Athletics DC 5 to climb). Doing
so takes 3 rounds. Make note of the number of the
square where you drop the rope into the chasm. If you
fall while climbing, go to 058, page 92. Otherwise, go
to 128, page 97.

038: Attempt a Bluff check (DC 10). If you succeed,
go to 093, page 95. Otherwise go to 100, page 95.

039: To the north is a clearly artificial pipe, jutting
from the wall and spewing water into this chamber.
The pipe is carved to look as if a demonic frog is hold¬
ing it, and the pipe itself looks big enough to enter.
The frog’s eyes sparkle in the ambient light, which is
brighter in this passage. Where the pipe spews water,
a deeper, calmer pool has formed on leveler ground.
It’s obvious that water within 3 squares of the pipe
is difficult terrain but not a rushing stream hazard.
Another swinging root dangles near the cave wall
to the west. Mark your map with the information on
this map, especially the second dangling root and its
related outlined area, then go back to encounter 2,
page 79, and continue it.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Dark Awakenings

040: “Yes. You awakened and you could have escaped
us. But you came to us instead. We must wonder why,
but we will learn this in time without your telling us.”
Go back to 124, page 97, and continue.

041: Attempt a DC 16 check with the same skill,
going to 074, page 93, if you succeed. Otherwise, go
back to encounter 4, page 83, and continue it.

042: You reach the bottom of the chasm, which ends
in the ceiling of a cavernous chamber, with a stream
10 feet below. You can climb back up (go to 069, page
93), or you can jump down (go to 098, page 95).

043: The frog’s eyes are green jewels. If you pry them
out, go to 009, page 88. If you leave them, go back
to encounter 2’s Conclusion, page 80, and choose
another option.

044: You can attempt an Arcana or Nature check
(DC 15). Success leads you to 107, page 96. Failure
tells you nothing and sends you back to 033, page 90.

045: You see nothing unusual about the trap door.
You can open it (minor action) and go to 006, page
88. Or you can go back to encounter 4, page 83, and
continue.

046: The water releases steam or smoke, and the
monster looks as if it finds the experience uncom¬
fortable but is otherwise unharmed. Go back to
encounter 3, page 81, and continue it.

047: “No. You are particularly strong, for you man¬
aged to awaken and resist. Voyvod needs you most of
all.” Go to 012, page 88, and continue.

048: The ambient glow isn’t natural; it’s probably the
unintentional side effect of magic use. Monsters here
are tainted by the same magic-the oozes could even
be semisentient from the magically or alchemically
polluted water. The tainted roots likely have a central
control in some larger plantlike entity. Killing that
creature is likely to render these roots harmless again.
Go back to encounter 2, page 79, and continue it.

049: The light is brighter deeper in the room. A table
with papers and other objects on it sits a ways beyond
the natural column to the west, and another similar
table is visible to the north. You can return to encoun¬
ter 5, page 84, and continue it. You can instead move
farther to the west or the north. To do so stealthily,
attempt a Stealth check for each hero, then go to 008,
page 88. Otherwise go to 120, page 97.

050: It takes 1 minute (10 rounds) to look around
the area and attempt a Perception check. On a check
result of 10 or higher go to 110, page 96. Otherwise,
go to 019, page 89.

051: The room and the creatures within are clearly
tainted by magic, and the plant here is likely the
source of the animated roots you’ve encountered. Go
back to encounter 3, page 81, and continue it.

-^ _

052: When you arrive and look around, read:

Splug is squeaking in terror, fending off sickly-looking
blue oozes. One of those black, mobile roots grasps for him.
Movement in other parts of the cave indicates more creatures,
including another root near the southern wall. The stream
plunges into another cavern there, roiling fiercely.

Nearby, a long, inanimate root dangles in the water,
looking like you could swing on it or hold onto it.

Use this map for your setup, and reduce Splug’s (S) hit
points by 6. Splug is in trouble! Go back to encounter
2, page 79, and continue it, skipping the normal read¬
ing for your arrival.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

053: “This was our tomb, a place of rest until our long
sleep ended. Now it is our home and place of work.
We shall sleep no more.” Go back to 124, page 97,
and continue.

054: Darkvision doesn’t penetrate this darkness. Go
back to encounter 5, page 84, and continue it.

055: If you got a check result of 15 or higher, go to
Oil, page 88. If not, you learn little of value. Go back
to encounter 3, page 81, and continue it.

056: Go to encounter 5, page 84. You arrive in the
start area.

057: If your check result was 15 or higher, go to 087,
page 94. Otherwise, go back to encounter 5, page 84,
and continue it.

058: You plummet into the chasm, falling into water,
taking ldlO damage from the fall and landing prone.
(If a tainted root is dragging you, it dies from the fall.)
If the fall reduced you to 0 hit points, you quickly
drown and your adventure is over. Otherwise, go to
080, page 94.

060: If the object was made of metal, go to 028, page
89. Otherwise, go to 102, page 95.

061: Bright light falls on walls as below, along with
four fallen humanoid figures chained to the walls.

If you investigate these figures, go to 137, page 98.
Otherwise, go back to encounter 5, page 84, and con¬
tinue it.

064: Splug screams like a tiny youngster and goes
under the water. If you are in an adjacent square, you
have a chance to grab him before he goes completely
under by using a standard action on your turn. If you
try this, go to 101, page 95. Otherwise, go to 003,
page 88.

065: The creature that entered the campfire square
takes ld4 fire damage. That creature takes another
ld4 fire damage each time it ends its turn in the fire.
Being in the campfire square grants a +2 bonus to
defenses against the tainted roots. Go back to encoun¬
ter 1, page 77, and continue it.

066: You find nothing of interest. Go back to encoun¬
ter 3’s Conclusion, page 82, and choose another
option.

067: Splug starts to sidle forward with a sigh, as if
he’s resigned to obeying Voyvod. Move him 1 square
closer to Voyvod. If you accept the drink-not neces¬
sarily to drink it yet-move both heroes adjacent to
Voyvod and go to 033, page 90. Refusal forces you to
029, page 90. You can attack by going back to encoun¬
ter 6, page 85, and starting combat.

059: You have thwarted the wight’s dark plans and
rescued the wight’s prisoners, your adventuring com¬
panions. They awaken shortly after the wight dies,
and they reunite with you. Your memory returns
quickly, and the ordeal has netted surviving heroes
500 experience points! In the lab, you recover your
companions’ gear, and you also find 350 gp worth of
valuables! Congratulations! This ends the adventure.

062: Splug simply won’t do what you want, and seems
a little hint that you’re pushing the issue. Really. Tears
well up. You can attempt the check again with another
skill. Or you can go back to what you were doing.

063: Make an Athletics check to jump. A hero that
jumps 2 or more squares (DC 10) makes it to the
root and can use it to climb down (Athletics DC 5 to
climb). A fall while jumping or climbing leads to 058,
page 92. Otherwise, go to 106, page 96.

068: The ladder leads up 10 feet to a stone trap
door. If a hero climbs the ladder (no check required)
and attempts to inspect the trap door, go to 132,
page 98. To open the trap door (minor action), go to
006, page 88. Otherwise, go back to encounter 4,
page 83, and continue it.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

069: Climbing the side of the chasm requires a
successful DC 15 Athletics check. Make note of
the number of the square where each hero enters
the chasm. If you fall while climbing, go to 058,
page 92. Otherwise, go to 042, page 91. Or go back
to encounter l’s Conclusion, page 78, and make
another choice.

070: The root leads back up to the campsite in
encounter 1, in the square shown here. A fall while
climbing deals ldlO damage and lands the hero
prone in the water in square “D.” Getting back to the
campsite requires a jump across the chasm (Athlet¬
ics DC 10). If you go back to encounter 1, page 77,
choose a conclusion option there. If all heroes leave
encounter 2 this way, any monsters left in encounter
2 pursue by climbing the root. Or you can return to
encounter 2, page 79, hy climbing down again.

071: You sense nothing special, but you can retry the
Perception check once as a minor action (go to 114,
page 96). Otherwise, go back to encounter 3, page 81,
and continue it.

076: Bright light illuminates only what you see on the
map below. If you move further into the darkness, go
to 061, page 92. Otherwise, go back to encounter 5,
page 84, and continue it.

072: “We are Voyvod. We are eternal. Majestic.
Great. Our nosism is appropriate. Through us, much
shall be born. You are too small in mind and sight to
understand us.” Go to 012, page 88, and continue.

073: Athletics DC 10 to climb the rope from the
cavern floor. A fall while climbing deals Id 10
damage and the hero lands prone. Climbing leads
back to the numbered square you noted for the rope
in encounter 1 (page 78, choose a conclusion option
there; or return to encounter 2, page 79). If all heroes
leave encounter 2 this way, any monsters left alive in
encounter 2 pursue by climbing the rope.

074: The circle is a blood sigil. A creature stand¬
ing in any square the circle touches can take ld6
damage to treat a natural attack roll of 19 as a critical
hit. A creature that dies in the circle will be turned
to black dust. Go back to encounter 4, page 83, and
continue it.

075: It takes 1 minute (10 rounds) to look around the
area and attempt a Perception check. You can take
longer if you want-5 minutes allows you to take 10
on the check. On a check result of 15 or higher go to
032, page 90. Otherwise, go to 066, page 92.

077: Attempt a DC 15 Athletics check. Success
leads you to 118, page 97. Failure forces you to 025,
page 89.

078: Make another Arcana check. If you get a 15 or
higher, go to 017, page 89. Otherwise, you can learn
nothing more. Return to encounter 3, page 81, and
continue it.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

079: “Yes. Our creatures are collectors who bring
us subjects for our experiments. Subjects such as
you and your companions and experiments with
magic too great for you to grasp. Soon, Voyvod shall
rule this area. We shall have an army and slaves,
dead and living. You needn’t worry yourself over it.
You won’t be there.” Go back to 124, page 97, and
continue.

080: Go to encounter 2, page 79. Each hero arrives in
the start area, in a numbered square corresponding
with the numbered square that hero came from in
encounter 1.

081: Grabbing the tree provides the hero who grabbed
it greater leverage, granting a +2 bonus to attempts to
escape and a +2 bonus to Fortitude against the drag
attack. Go back to encounter 1, page 77, and continue it.

082: The zombie shudders and lurches upright, stand¬
ing in one grotesque motion. It regains 10 hit points, but
it has only a standard action on this turn. It attacks or
charges to attack if it can. Otherwise, it moves toward
the closest hero. If the zombie drops to 0 hp again while
in the sigil circle, you should go to 034, page 90. Now go
back to encounter 4, page 83, and continue it.

083: You are pulled under the water and through a
cavern. Attempt a DC 15 Athletics check to swim.
Whether the check fails or not, go to encounter 3,
page 81.

084: The wight is unusual in that it doesn’t appear to
be vulnerable to radiant damage. However, you sense
a weakness and you deal 4 extra radiant damage on
your next attack that deals radiant damage. Go back
to encounter 6, page 85, and continue it.

085: If each hero got a Stealth check result of 11 or
higher, the heroes receive a surprise round. Other¬
wise, combat begins normally. Go back to encounter
3, page 81, and continue it.

086: You’re disoriented in churning water for a few
moments, then you manage to stand just as Splug
falls, squealing, into the chasm with you. He takes
Id 10 damage from the fall, plus 2 damage for each
square he was away from the chasm when you fell in,
and he lands prone. Go to 080, page 94.

087: These mushrooms are barrow caps, spirit
fortifying but mildly toxic to the body. Eating one
of them grants the eater 10 temporary hit points
(until expended or the end of your next short rest)
but also imposes a -2 penalty to saving throws (save
ends during combat, or this lasts until the end of
your next short rest). If you eat one, go to 020, page
89. Otherwise, go back to encounter 5, page 84, and
continue it.

088: Voyvod attacks you! Go back to encounter 6,
page 85, and begin combat.

089: A hero can swing on the root as shown below.
Once the task is done, go back to encounter 2, page
79, and continue it.

1 Swinging Root

At Will Terrain 1

This root is long enough t
cavern.

o allow you to swing across the

Move Action

Requirement: You must be in the root’s square to use this

power.

Check: Athletics check (DC 10) to swing from the root’s square
to one of the squares within the root’s red-line-bounded

Success: You move in a straight line from the root’s starting
square to the ending square you selected, and you ignore
difficult terrain for this movement. You can let go of the
root at any point during this movement, and you can make
a standing jump in any direction from that point. You
provoke opportunity attacks only for leaving your initial
square. If you reach an ending square, you can make a
running jump. You must jump along the same straight line
as the swinging root’s path.

Failure: You do not move, and your move action ends.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Dark Awakenings

90: The hero loses a healing surge. Each hero can
lose only one healing surge in this way. Go back to
encounter 3, page 81, and continue it.

091: The passage leads to a dead end, but a suspicious
one. The wall in front of you is wooden and hinged
on the right. You quickly spot a clasp and discern
that this is a secret door, and you are standing on the
undisguised side. If you open the door stealthily, go to
115, page 96. You can instead burst through the door
forcefully by going to 077, page 93. Simply opening
the door leads to 025, page 89.

092: Light doesn’t seem to penetrate the darkness. Go
back to encounter 5, page 84, and continue it.

093: If you attack, you gain a surprise round. You also
have a moment more with the drink, to examine it if
you wish. Go back to 033, page 90, and continue.

094: Attempt an Athletics check or Acrobatics check
to climb (DC 20)—the pipe is slippery, but the narrow
space provides plenty of support for the strong or the
dexterous. If you fall, you take ldlO damage. You can
quit at any time by going back to encounter 2, page
79, and choosing another option. If you succeed, go to
056, page 92.

095: “We are Voyvod, what such as you might call
a wight. An undead creature, unburdened by a soul,
immortal.” Go back to 124, page 97, and continue.

096: You take 5 cold and necrotic damage, and you
grope around in the silent, bewildering darkness. You
can stay (go to 112, page 96) or you can light a light
(go to 076, page 93). Otherwise, you can leave the
darkness and go back to encounter 5, page 84, and
continue it.

097: The heroes are suddenly blinded and feel a
floating sensation for a second. The blindness ends
as encounter 4 starts, and you notice the runes are
illuminated, having moved the heroes and the rocks
and dust on the worked stone. As shown on the map
here, you start encounter 4 in the square marked
PC; Splug, if present, starts in the square marked S.
Remaining bats from encounter 3 follow you, but if
the tainted root pod still lives, it does not. You are also

©;

■ ^ t. : +

S 'yy.

SSl * *■

tUBk * y ■

+ / -f

■

- _ _^

subject to this attack. After resolving this attack, go to
encounter 4, page 83, and continue it.

Runes flare, your vision goes white, and your mind is filled
with pain.

Attack: +5 vs. Will.

Hit: You are dazed until the end of your next turn.

098: You jump safely into the stream, landing on
your feet. Go to encounter 2, page 79.

099: The monster’s eyes flare red, and one can easily
sense the circle is infusing violent intent with more
power. A creature standing in a circle square can take
ld6 damage to treat a natural attack roll of 19 as a
critical hit. The zombie does this whenever possible,
but the wisps never do. Go back to encounter 4, page
83, and continue it.

100: Voyvod howls in rage and attacks you before you
can learn more about the drink. Go back to encounter
6, page 85, and begin combat.

101: Make a Strength-based attack (d20 + Str modi¬
fier). If you hit, you grab Splug, and you can pull him
into an unoccupied square adjacent to you. Then you
can go back to encounter 2, page 79, and continue it.

If you fail to grab Splug, go to 003, page 88.

102: Nothing happens. Go back to encounter 3, page
81, and continue it.

miter 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

103: As it is grabbed, the tent falls down! The hero
who grabbed it takes a -2 penalty to attempts to
escape and a -2 penalty to Fortitude against the drag
attack until the start of that hero’s next turn. Go back
to encounter 1, page 77, and continue it.

104: The circle causes the blood to burn and aggres¬
sion to rise, and a creature standing in a circle square
can take ld6 damage to treat a natural attack roll of
19 as a critical hit. The zombie does this whenever
possible, but the wisps never do. Go back to encounter
4, page 83, and continue it.

105: If you accept the drink—not necessarily to drink
it yet-move adjacent to Voyvod and go to 033, page
90. Refusal forces you to 029, page 90. You can also
simply attack by going back to encounter 6, page 85,
and starting combat.

106: Go to encounter 2, page 79. You arrive in the
start area, in the square marked “D” for the dangling
root. If Splug follows you this way, he arrives in an
unoccupied square adjacent to you in the start area.

107: The drink is an acidic poison of some sort, and
you can be certain it’s harmful. You can attempt a
Religion check (DC 15) and go to 016, page 89, if you
succeed. Otherwise, go to 033, page 90.

108: The pipe quickly turns upward, a dim circle
of light revealing the pipe’s other end high above. It
looks slippery, but you can try to climb it (go to 094,
page 95). Or you can go back to encounter 2’s Conclu¬
sion, page 80, and choose another option.

109: “Your erstwhile companions sleep, unlike you,
in the thickest darkness of the cavern until we wish to
use them. They sleep until Voyvod no longer wishes
it.” Voyvod points to the southern exit from the room.
Go back to 124, page 97, and continue.

110: A small vial remains among the dust on the sigil
circle. It’s a gravespawn potion. Go back to encounter
4’s Conclusion, page 83, and choose another option.

MJ.Ll.UmiJ.IIUJ

This deep purple, putrescent liquid fends off diseases and
poisons.

Potion 50 gp

Power (Consumable): Minor Action. Drink this potion and
spend a healing surge. You do not regain hit points as
normal. Instead, gain resist 5 necrotic and resist 5 poison
until the end of the encounter. You also gain a +5 power
bonus to your next Endurance check against any disease of
level 5 or lower.

Ill: As your insult falls from your lips and takes root,
Voyvod’s look of amusement becomes a mask of rage.
“They” attack! Go back to encounter 6, page 85, and
begin combat.

112: Cold darkness envelops and disorients you, and
you take 5 cold and necrotic damage. You bumble
around in the darkness for a while. You can stay (go to
096, page 95) or you can light a light (go to 036, page
90). Otherwise, go back to encounter 5, page 84, and
continue it.

-^ -

113: You quickly recover a rope (50 feet), a healing
potion, your backpack, your bedroll, an extra bed¬
roll, 1 sunrod, a metal pot, a metal pan, and a full
waterskin. You can take any or all of this gear. Note
what you take. This takes 6 rounds. Now, go back
to encounter l’s Conclusion, page 78, and choose
another option.

114: If you got a Perception check result of 15 or
higher, go to 135, page 98. Otherwise, go to 071,
page 93.

115: Attempt a DC 12 Stealth check. Success leads
you to 118, page 97. Failure forces you to 025,
page 89.

116: Attempt a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate check
(DC 12). You gain a +2 bonus to this check if Splug
is better than you are at the task, such as when his
skill is higher than yours. You take a -2 penalty to this
check if you are better than Splug at the task, such as
when your skill is higher. You also take a -2 penalty
to this check if you’re asking Splug to go somewhere
alone, even for a moment. If you succeed, go to 035,
page 90. Failure means a trip to 062, page 92.

117: The root leads to the cavern ceiling 10 feet up.

A fall while climbing deals ldlO damage and lands
the hero prone in square D2. Nearby monsters pursue
climbers up the root, as far as they are able, since
the climber probably grants combat advantage while
climbing the root.

miter 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Dark Awakenings

118: You arrive at encounter 6, page 85, in the square
shown here (PC); Splug arrives in the square marked
(S). You have surprised the monsters there.

119: The object is unharmed but a curl of smoke or
steam rises from the water with a hiss. If you threw
the object in, it sinks. To recover it, you must enter
the pool. Go back to encounter 3, page 81, and con¬
tinue it.

120: Go to encounter 6, page 85. Choose the western
start area or northern start area, whichever is most
appropriate to how you entered the room.

121: You drink the potion, which tastes sweet and
tangy, and Voyvod smiles. Your flesh quickly goes
cold, your innards burn, and the world goes black.
You never awaken again, and your adventure is over.

♦ End the conversation by going to 012, page 88.
4- Attack! Go back to encounter 6, page 85, and
roll initiative.

122: You sense residual magic in the area. The eerie
glow and the monsters are likely a result of this
magic. If you spend a minor action to investigate
further, go to 023, page 89. Otherwise, go back to
encounter 1, page 77, and continue it.

123: You can use a standard action to attempt an
Arcana check (trained only) or Thievery check by
going to 055, page 92. Otherwise, go back to encoun¬
ter 3, page 81, and continue it.

124: As the wispy shapes begin to whimper and
groan, the thin humanoid raises a hand and speaks
to you in a hoarse whisper. “We are Voyvod. Wel¬
come to our home. I see our creatures have brought
you to us as we wished. You seem to be more resil¬
ient than your companions. You shall make an
excellent subject for our experiments.” You can
attack by going back to encounter 6, page 85, and
continuing it. You can instead speak to Voyvod, who
seems willing to talk and amused at your presence.
Here are some options:

♦ What are you? (Go to 095, page 95.)

-4 This is your home? (Go to 053, page 92.)

♦ Do I/we amuse you? (Go to 040, page 91.)

♦ What do you mean “your creatures”? (Go to 021,
page 89.)

4- You had me brought here? (Go to 079, page 94.)

4- What about my companions? (Go to 109,
page 96.)

4- Can I/we leave? (Go to 047, page 91.)

4- Why do you keep referring to yourself as “we”?
(Go to 072, page 93.)

♦ Insult Voyvod. (go to 111, page 96)

125: Unlike you and Splug, monsters with darkvision
can see in and through the darkness in here. Go back
to encounter 6, page 85.

126: Other than the sparkling eyes of the frog pipe,
which you might already know all about, you turn up
nothing of interest. Go back to encounter 2’s Conclu¬
sion, page 80, and choose another option.

128: Go to encounter 2, page 79. You arrive in the
start area, in a numbered square corresponding with
the numbered square you came from in encounter 1.
If Splug follows you this way, he arrives in an unoccu¬
pied square adjacent to you in the start area.

129: The mushrooms provide no obstacle, and
moving through them is harmless. Go back to
encounter 5, page 84.

130: You find nothing of interest. Go back to
encounter 2’s Conclusion, page 80, and choose
another option.

127: Moving across the table smashes bottles and
scatters paper. This enrages the wight but has little
other effect. Go back to encounter 6, page 85, and
continue.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Dark Awakenings

131: The chasm wall ends after about 10 feet, but it
opens into a wider area lit by a green light. The light
shimmers on running water about 20 feet below. On
the far side of the chasm dangles a root that could
allow easy climbing. You would need to jump about
10 feet to reach that root. Otherwise, the chasm
sides look rough, and there’s no reason to risk a
jump to the chasm’s other side other than to make
use of the root there. If you jump into the chasm,
go to 058, page 92. If you jump to the root, go to
063, page 92. If you climb down the near side, go to
069, page 93. If you have a rope, go to 037, page 90.
You can also go back to encounter 1, page 77, and
choose another option.

132: Attempt a DC 15 Perception check, and go
to 045 if you succeed. Otherwise, you see nothing
unusual about the trap door. You can open it (minor
action) and go to 006, page 88. Or you can go back to
encounter 4, page 83, and continue it.

133: You sense residual magic in the area. The chasm
and the creepy roots are likely a result of this magic.
You remember the burning eyes in your dream, and
you suspect you’ll be facing someone or something
that has necromantic powers. Go back to encounter 1,
page 77, and continue it.

134: The hero takes ld6 damage from the rough
passage through the water. Now go to encounter 3,
page 81. The hero is dazed until the end of his or her
first turn.

135: You notice runes etched into the stones. Dust
obscures them enough that you might not have seen
them before. You needn’t do so now, but make a note
that you can examine the runes (go to 123, page 97),
throw something on the runes (go to 060, page 92), or
touch the runes (go to 097, page 95).

136: Magic is strong here, especially in the circle
of sigils. If you spend a minor action to investigate
further, go to 041, page 91. Otherwise, go back to
encounter 4, page 83, and continue it.

- r

137: These people are clearly alive but in some sort
of magical stupor. They wear only tattered mundane
clothing. You suddenly realize that these people are
your traveling companions! Perhaps you can find
something to rouse them, but nothing here does the
trick. You need to leave the area if you hope to find
such an item. Go back to encounter 5, page 84, and
continue it.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Know Your
Controller

ROLE:

By Robert J. Schwalb

Illustrations by Evan Shipard

Many adventuring groups make the mistake of
thinking the controller is a secondary choice when
compared to what an extra leader or striker can
bring to the group. Although no role is mandatory
for adventuring parties, setting aside a controller
can turn a standard encounter into a hard one and
make a hard fight into an impossible one. Resistance
to controllers frequently stems from misapprehen¬
sions about what the role is supposed to do. This
article peels back the curtain to examine the role’s
guts while also offering new feats and powers that are
available to any controller regardless of class.

CONTROLLER BASICS

As of this writing, five classes make up the controller
role: the wizard in the Player’s Handbook, the druid
and invoker in the Player’s Handbook 2®, and the psion
and seeker from the forthcoming Player’s Handbook
3. Each class approaches the controller role in a dif¬
ferent way, but what these classes bring to a combat
encounter follow the role’s basic tactics.

According to the Player’s Handbook, controllers
control and use area offense. The terms are more or
less true, but they rely on class powers to demonstrate
what the techniques mean. This description can
create some confusion since controllers aren’t the
only classes to use area offense—look at the rogue’s

blinding barrage exploit or the ranger’s unstoppable
arrows. Furthermore, control might represent actual
control over enemies, restricting enemy options, or
manipulating the battlefield terrain to serve in a
useful capacity.

To clarify the Player’s Handbook, a controller
participates in a combat encounter by creating cir¬
cumstances that discourage enemies from making
certain choices. A controller goes about limiting
choices by making area offense attacks, by which the
controller punishes enemies from grouping together
or takes a direct hand in influencing actions through
zones, conjurations, summons, and a variety of other
techniques.

Area Offense

A controller’s technique is clearest when he or she
uses a power to attack several foes at once. All con¬
trollers have at least a few powers designed to strike
multiple opponents and such powers can take the
form of multitarget ranged attacks, area burst attacks,
or close bursts and blasts. The first lesson control¬
ler players learn is that area offense powers are best
used to clear out minion groups so that defenders and
strikers don’t have to waste actions removing them
one at a time.

Although controllers can find something satisfy¬
ing about catching half a dozen minions in a scorching

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

7 )

Know Your Role.- Controller

burst and wiping the lot of them from the battlefield
in one go, anyone who has taken a controller class
out for a spin knows such occasions are few and far
between. Enemies rarely stay bunched up for long,
and area attacks against individual opponents deal
less damage and also expose allies to friendly fire. As
well, implement-users can lag behind other charac¬
ters in accuracy, which can be frustrating when every
attack against six or so enemies misses.

Control

Control powers take many forms. A particular class’s
story elements, power source, and secondary roles all
influence the powers available to these characters.

A wizard might create a freezing cloud, and a druid
can call forth writhing vines by using vine serpents to
immobilize or restrain foes. Zones might deal damage
to creatures that enter or start their turns inside
them. Powers might punish foes for making attacks,
moving, or performing another kind of action. Other
powers might call forth new opponents so that
enemies must divide their attention between charac¬
ters and the creatures they summon. In every case, a
controller’s powers encourage certain options while
punishing others.

Control powers are central to a controller’s func¬
tion on the battlefield, but the more influence a
power has on an enemy, the less damage it deals in
many cases. For this reason, control powers are best
used when allies can pick up the slack and dish out
the damage.

Taking Control

When picking and using powers in combat, you
should keep several factors in mind.

Diversity: When looking at your controller class’s
power list, you find ranged powers, area burst powers,
and close attack powers, as well as pure damage
and pure control powers. Avoid over-specializing. A
good mix allows you to contribute more effectively in
combat. For your at-will powers, be sure to pick one
area power and one ranged (or melee) power. Encoun¬
ter and daily powers should reflect these choices so
that you can have a tool for every problem.

Timing: Enemies don’t stay bunched up for long,
so attack the group whenever you can. Your best
opportunities for mass damage fall in the opening
round or two. After this point, enemies scatter, are
pinned down by defenders, or bear down on you for
a bit of vengeance. These three possibilities point
out why targeted attacks are so important: They deal
more damage than burst/blast attacks so that you can
pick off the enemies that survived your initial strike
at your leisure.

Timing on strong control powers is less clear and
more situational. As a rule of thumb, control powers
should be reactionary in that you use them to cancel
exploitative tactics or remove dangerous adversaries
from the fight. Using an augmented dishearten right
out of the gate before you have had a chance to assess
your foes is both reckless and counterproductive.

Sure you deal damage, but the penalty the power
provides doesn’t do much good when the elite brute
reveals itself on the initiative count following yours.

Concentrating Fire: Most groups recognize that
concentrating attacks against one opponent at a time
is a good way to eliminate enemies in short order. As
a controller, your damage output isn’t high enough

to contribute in a significant way, so unless you have
no other options, you should use your powers to help
your allies take out their foes. You can achieve this
type of support by sequestering enemies through
zones and walls, blasting supporting opponents such
as minions, or controlling other enemies until the
party can tackle them.

Collateral Damage: Some controllers have “ally-
blind” powers, which means the attacks target all
creatures. By the second round’s end, most defenders
and melee strikers ought to be engaging the enemy,
so if you plan to use an area or close attack, you are
probably going to hit one or more friends in the pro¬
cess. Sometimes, especially when minions swarm a
defender, the damage you can deal to your buddy is
worth it if you clear out a pile of mooks. As a rule of
thumb, you should include your allies in bursts or
blasts only if you can also hit a number of enemies
equal to the allies at risk + 2. So if the ranger and the
fighter are hacking through four goblin warriors, it’s
probably okay to use grasping shards.

Know Your Enemy: Monster knowledge checks
don’t require training and they don’t take an action.

If you don’t know what you’re fighting, you had better
make the check as soon as your turn comes around.
Learning an enemy’s powers can tell you a lot about
its role, and knowing its role can also tell you what
defenses you should be targeting. Heavy-hitting melee
types frequently have high AC and Fortitude. Reflex
is usually high for fast-moving enemies and lurking
types, and controllers and area attack opponents can
benefit from high Will.

Persistent Effects: The best area offense powers
are the ones that do more than deal damage. Shock
sphere, for example, is a perfectly fine spell and can
catch up to 25 creatures in one shot. But how often

Decer

zr 2009 | DRAGON 382

Know Your Role.- Controller

are you going to face 25 enemies at once? Also, how
likely is it that all those bad guys are going to line
up for you? Icy rays, however, can target one or two
creatures, and it keeps them in place, which makes
icy rays a handy spell for pinning down tough brutes
while your allies dispatch the softer opponents first.

CONTROLLER FEATS

The following feats allow controllers to customize
their powers to respond to challenges encountered
on the battlefield. Most of the feats require you to
sacrifice a chosen power. These feats are useful to all
controllers, regardless of power source or class.

Heroic Tier Feats

Any feat in this section is available to a character of
any level who meets the prerequisites.

Clever Control

Prerequisite: Controller role
Benefit: Whenever you target two or more crea¬
tures with a close or area attack power and you hit
only one of those creatures, the attack deals ld6 extra
damage. The extra damage increases to 2d6 at 11th
level and 3d6 at 21st level.

Destructive Power

Prerequisite: 8th level, controller role
Benefit: You can exchange any 6th-level or higher
utility power you know for destructive power.

Destructive Power Feat Power

Byfunneling greater power into your attack, you ensure its
effect is not wasted.

Daily

Free Action Personal

Trigger: You roll a 1 on any damage die when you hit with an
area or close attack power

Effect: You reroll any result of 1 or 2 on a damage die until the
die roll is something other than 1 or 2.

Explosive Power

Prerequisite: 8th level, controller role
Benefit: You can exchange any 6th-level or higher
utility power you know for explosive power.

Explosive Power Feat Power

Your attack explodes outward in a silent wave of energy, push¬
ing creatures away from your attack’s point of origin.

Daily

Free Action Personal

Trigger: You hit at least one creature with an area or close
attack power

Effect: You push each creature in the burst or blast of the trig¬
gering attack power 5 squares away from the attack’s origin
square. This forced move ends when a creature is no longer
within the triggering attack’s blast or burst.

Eorceeul Power

Penetrating Power

Prerequisite: 10th level, controller role
Benefit: You can exchange any lOth-level or
higher utility power you know for penetrating power.

Penetrating Power _Feat Power

You contain the attack’s energy in a magical shell so that you
can punch through your enemy’s resistances.

Encounter

Minor Action Personal

Effect: The next ranged, area, or close attack you use before
the end of your next turn ignores all resistances, including
insubstantial.

Seeking Power

Prerequisite: 8th level, controller role
Benefit: You can exchange any 6th-level or higher
utility power you know for seeking power.

Seeking Power Feat Power

Infusing your attack with greater power reduces the risk that
intervening obstructions can foil your attack.

Encounter

Minor Action Personal

Effect: The next ranged attack roll you make before the end of
your next turn ignores all concealment and cover.

Special: If the attack misses, you regain the use of this power.

Prerequisite: 8th level, controller role
Benefit: You can exchange any 6th-level or higher
utility power you know for forceful power.

Forceful Power Feat Power

You knock those struck by your attack from their feet.

Daily

Free Action Personal

Trigger: You hit at least one creature with an area attack power
Effect: You knock prone each creature you hit with the trigger¬
ing power.

About the Author

Robert J. Schwalb is an award-winning game designer
whose more recent work can be found in Martial Power™
2, Draconomicon “ 2, and Primal Power”. Robert lives in
Tennessee.

2009 | DRAGON 382

Guilds & Groups.-
Moon Catchers

By Bruce R. Cordell

Illustrations by Evan Shipard

Another moon once graced the sky. It shone blue
and cool-a coin-sized gem sailing the night. Called
Iltani the Blue, the moon had the reputation of
being a good omen when it was viewed waxing
full, especially by travelers and explorers. Old
songs and sayings sometimes touch on Iltani,
though few recognize the allusion as referring
to something that once was real. For most, “once
in a blue moon” is a figure of speech, meaning
something that rarely or never occurs. However,
Iltani the Blue was real, and its absence is keenly
felt by those who know the truth.

HISTORY

Most people don’t remember Iltani, because the
moon disappeared about a hundred years ago. Before
that, Iltani enjoyed a career only thirty years long
before its destruction.

Iltani rose in the east around one hundred and
thirty years ago for the first time. Its appearance
sparked consternation because no one had foreseen
the arrival of a completely new moon-not the wiz¬
ards in their towers, the priests in their temples, the
warlocks on their crags dedicated to the stars, or the
sorcerers for whom the natural flow of the seasons is
an inherent, cosmic inevitability.

In time, incipient panic died away as the moon’s
appearance failed to precede any sort of catastrophe.
Dire pronouncements were made, but not by anyone
who turned out to have any knowledge or connec¬
tion with the new blue moon. In time, most people
accepted the unanticipated blue orb sailing the sky
as another feature of the heavens—one that was novel
and mysterious, but apparently not an omen of immi¬
nent disaster.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Guilds &. Groups.- Moon Catchers

Some did not take the moon for granted, though
they were fascinated by the moon’s appearance and
dedicated themselves to learning the truth. One of
these people was Tetherya Acrid. Tetherya, a tiefling
sorceress already fascinated by celestial objects,
believed the appearance of the blue moon must pres¬
age something amazing, even if what that might be
wasn’t immediately obvious.

Tetherya spent years putting together an expedi¬
tion to Iltani. The preparations should have measured
mere months for someone as accomplished as the sor¬
ceress, but ill luck dogged every decision that touched
on the blue moon. However, the tiefling’s native talent
and perseverance eventually paid off. Tetherya finally
walked upon the new moon.

She found the entire moon was a 500-mile diam¬
eter chunk of a beryl-like mineral. Airless and dead,
the sorceress discovered nothing on the light side that
faced the world. On the dark side, Tetherya found
massive runes inscribed as deep fissures in Primor¬
dial. The runes seemed to be a warning. According to
the tiefling, the message read:

You are barredfrom this world, apocalypse. You will have
no landing here, Nebiru. Iltani the Blue is set in the sky
against you, Falling Star. While Iltani guards the heavens,
your red scar shall not be scratched across the night. This
world rejects you, Nebiru, in the name of Iltani the Blue.

Tetherya found nothing else on the moon except
for the warning. She returned to the world and
researched the name Nebiru the Falling Star. What
she found chilled her heart.

Nebiru was nothing less than an entity described
as an apocalypse dragon. An apocalypse dragon is a
catastrophic dragon that has lived too long and grown

too powerful. According to the lore she unearthed,
Nebiru resides in a vault of empty space beyond
the world, in a lair of lightless hollows composed of
half-formed worlds and the rubble of creation. The
hollows beneath Nebiru’s airless surface are filled
with the detritus of failed empires, dead kings, and
broken dreams pilfered from the world. One day,
Nebiru will nudge the trajectory of her moon-sized
lair just so. When that happens, its path brings it
into conjunction with the world. Then, the skies will
flame red as her lair impacts the land with all the
energy of a falling star.

This fate would take place but for one fact: Iltani
the Blue served as a ward against that very possibility.
As long as Iltani showed its blue face over the world,
the world would be safe from that particular ending.

Thus, on the day that Iltani the Blue detonated and
shattered into a million tiny fragments that rained
down across the world, Tetherya knew the world’s
eventual end was assured.

Unless she could do something about it.

MOON CATCHERS
ORGANIZATION

Goal: Gather as many shards of destroyed Iltani
the Blue as possible. Eventually, they intend to reas¬
semble those shards and place the moon again in its
guardian position high above the world.

Size: Tiny but far flung, spread out around the
world in towns and uncivilized regions.

Alignment: Unaligned.

Philosophy: “Though the world doesn’t know or
care, one day our efforts to gather together Iltani will
save it and everything living on and under it.”

History: Tetherya Acrid founded the Moon Catch¬
ers approximately 100 years ago. Before handing off
the reins to individual cells, she made a prediction:
“One day, the blue moon will return.”

Leadership: Individual cells manage themselves,
but all cell leaders listen to the pronouncements of
the Lord Astronomer, who oversees the disposition of
collected shards of Iltani brought to the Azure Obser¬
vatory. Heads of cells are called Observers.

Headquarters: Individual cells might not have
headquarters, but the “motherhouse” for the organi-

OPTIONS TO A BLUE MOON

In some campaign settings, the number of moons
is significant. Suggesting the presence of another
celestial interloper, even one that came and went
in prehistory, may not fly (so to speak). If this is
true in your game, you can still use the material
in this article if you give it a slight spin. Options
to a moon include:

Iltani was never a moon, but a comet that
appeared in the heavens every seven years; 100
years ago, it didn’t pass the world, but impacted
it and shattered into the shards described.

Iltani was a great crystal observatory con¬
structed on the highest peak in the world by
enigmatic beings; 100 years ago, it was destroyed
in a local cataclysm that shattered it into the
shards described.

Iltani was a massive beryl statue of a woman
holding aloft the vault of the heavens as rep¬
resented by a starry globe; 100 years ago,
purple-clad assassins rushed into the structure
containing the statue. They detonated it with foul
magic and stole away all the resultant shards.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Guilds &. Groups.- Moon Catchers

zation is called the Azure Observatory. The interior
of the Azure Observatory is many times larger than
the exterior, and it contains a space (it is said) large
enough to reassemble the entire moon.

Membership Requirements: Those who promise
to bring or who deliver a shard of Iltani (a blue beryl¬
like stone) to the Azure Observatory can become
members. Membership duties for heroic tier charac¬
ters are loose; it doesn’t require too much dedication
to the effort, as long as occasional shards are deliv¬
ered. Higher-tier characters can take on additional
responsibilities within the organization if they wish.

Activities: General members collect shards and
fragments and send them to the Azure Observatory.
Other members explore the world for larger deposits
of the destroyed moon. Higher-level members are told
of the threat of Nebiru (or they receive a sliver of knowl¬
edge), and they can take steps to lessen that threat in
other ways.

Once a year the Moon Catchers enjoy the Festi¬
val of the Blue Moon, where they anticipate Iltani’s
return to the sky with a wild festival that features
blue wine and magical illusions of the moon’s return.
The celebration lasts from dawn until dusk

Enemies: Nebiru is an enemy, as are various
crazed star and dragon cults that secretly revere
Nebiru and work toward her eventual appearance.

One of the “crazed star” cults is called the Red
Watchers. The Red Watchers also collect scattered
shards of the broken moon Iltani, but they do so to
destroy them, or perhaps, use them to hasten the
arrival of Nebiru.

Minor Quest: While exploring the nearby dun¬
geon or lair, the organization ask adventurers to keep
an eye out for a cache of Iltani shards—the resident of

the dungeon or lair is noted for having an eye for such
gems and a penchant for collecting them.

Major Quest: Madarsen Kar is a local lord and
a well-known art collector, especially of sculp¬
ture. Madarsen has a particular love for gemstone
sculptures and has made a special effort to collect
a particular grade of beryl that he provides to sculp¬
tors. The organization asks the characters to find out
where Madarsen is acquiring his raw Iltani shards,
and to take the large pieces the lord has already had
converted into sculptures.

What no one initially knows is that Madarsen is
fully aware of the significance of the beryl he col¬
lects, but is using it in rituals designed to hasten the
eventual appearance of Nebiru; Madarsen is a major
principle in one of the crazed star cults, the Red
Watchers, that believes the end of the world will set
up a new regime with himself in charge.

MOON CATCHER MAGIC
ITEMS

Magic items created with tiny pieces of Iltani are
allowed by the organization, though it is understood
that such items might have to be returned to the
Azure Observatory one day to finish rebuilding the
blue moon. Some believe that consumables are an
insignificant amount of Iltani, so they don’t worry
about them.

Consumables

Shard of Freedom Level 15

You can win free of falling boulders or another effect that
otherwise might pin and bury you.

Lvl 15 1,000 gp

Other Consumable

Power (Consumable): Minor Action. The next time an effect
immobilizes you before the end of the encounter, the effect
does not immobilize you.

Special: Using this item counts as a use of a magic item daily

power.

1 Shard of Clear Sight

Level 17 1

Even through choking clouds of dust, you can
blindness.

castoff

Lvl 17 2,600 gp

Other Consumable

Power (Consumable): Minor Action. The next time an effect
blinds you before the end of the encounter, the effect does
not blind you.

Special: Using this item counts as a use of a magic item daily

You discover the history of Iltani the Blue, Nebiru, and the
Moon Chasers.

Lvl 4 40 gp

Other Consumable

Power (Consumable): Minor Action. You expend this item
when you place the gem to your eye and look through
it. You learn all the information described in this article
regarding the Moon Chaser history, the Moon Chaser
organization, and Moon Chaser magic items.

;r 2009 | DRAGON 382

Guilds &. Groups.- Moon Catchers

You throw off the lingering effects of enemy spells and ill ef¬
fects with greater ease.

Lvl 7 100 gp Lvl 27 65,000 gp

Lvl 17 2,600 gp

Other Consumable

Power (Consumable): Minor Action. You gain a +2 power
bonus to the next saving throw you make before the end of
the encounter.

Level 1 7: +4 power bonus to the saving throw.

Level 27: +6 power bonus to the saving throw.

Special: Using this item counts as a use of a magic item daily

Other Magic Items

Beryl of Catastrophe Avoidance Level 2+

This blue gem hovers near your head, improving your ability
to speak reasonably.

Lvl 2 520 gp Lvl 12 13,000 gp

Item Slot: Head

Property: You gain a +1 item bonus to Diplomacy and Insight
checks. You gain a +3 bonus to Diplomacy and Insight

About the Author

Bruce Cordell is a D&D® designer, but during his thirteen
years in the game industry, he has dabbled in miniatures,
board games, collectible card games, d20 games, and more.

Level 12: +3 item bonus, +5 bonus against catastrophic
dragons.

of Stability Levell 3

Even when the ground shafees and shudders, you know how to
stay on your feet.

Lvl 13 650 gp

Other Consumable

Power (Consumable): Minor Action. The next time you fall
prone before the end of the encounter, you can stay
standing instead.

Special: Using this item counts as a use of a magic item daily

Your attack drives your foe into the ground with the force of a
falling star.

Lvl 14 +3 21,000 gp Lvl 24 +5 525,000 gp

Lvl 19 +4 105,000 gp Lvl 29 +6 2,625,000 gp

Weapon: Any melee

Enhancement: Attack rolls and damage rolls
Critical: +1 d6 thunder damage per plus
Power (Daily): Free Action. Trigger: You hit with a melee basic
attack using this weapon. Effect: The target falls prone and
is restrained (save ends).

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

CONFESSIONS OF A FULL-TIME WIZARD

HOUSE RULES FOR

THE HOLIDAYS

BY SHELLY MAZZANOBLE

illustrations by William O’Conner

When we were kids, my brother and I used to play
Monopoly by our own rules. Or rather, his rules.

He could borrow money from me without penalty
or interest and use it to build hotels on properties I
would later land on. If I managed to build one house,
it was always on Baltic Avenue (the only property
I could afford), but my dear brother would always
repossess it when I couldn’t afford the nightly rate in
his hotel (that I helped build!) on Marvin Gardens.

My only rule was to pitch a fit, throw the board off
the table, and shower the repo man in little red hotels,
top hats, and silver shoes. That and step on one of his
dreaded red hotels as I was stomping out of the room,
which made me cry all the harder. It is considered a
“rule” if it happens every time, right?

Dungeons & Dragons has long been perceived as
a game that involves a labyrinth of rules. I can only
imagine what madness my brother would have made
out of it had he played. These so-called “complex
rules” are often the reason people shy away from
learning how to play D&D. Certainly, when you’re
trying to explain the game to a new player, you’ve
probably seen the glazed-over expression similar to

the one my 7th grade Algebra teacher, Mr. Thames,
saw on my face.

It’s odd, then, that so many people actually have
the gall to add more rides to their games. You know
the old expression: Everyone’s a game designer! And
it appears to be true, judging from the people I’ve
talked to about their home games. Granted, most of
them really are game designers, since my focus group
testing almost always takes place by the microwave
in the third floor kitchen. You’d be amazed by how
much microwave popcorn R&D consumes.

Today’s focus group consisted of Peter Schaeffer,
RPG Developer; Mike Mearls, D&D Lead Designer;
Andy Collins, Manager of RPG Development and
Editing; Jefferson Dunlap, Prepress Manager; Greg
Bilsland, RPG Editor; and “Kay,” who won’t let me
use her real name or title because she’s embarrassed
about some of her group’s house rules. Why, I’ll never
know, because I’m incorporating the rule I’m reveal¬
ing below into my game immediately.

Before I started to collect house rules, I wanted to
discover why people felt the need to add rules to their
games.

CONFESSIONS OF A FULL-TIME WIZARD

Kay explained it this way: “House rules are modi¬
fications that come into use because players feel they
make the game easier or more fun.”

“They’re not so much about adding rules, as much
as about enhancing rules,” Peter said. “Or even some¬
times subtracting one rule to add a house rule.”

“And you’re okay with that?” I asked him.

“Of course!” he said. “D&D is meant to be custom¬
ized! It’s all about being creative and imaginative.”

Again with this “customizing” and “creating” and
“imagining”! I know I’ve had that conversation before
with various members of R&D, and still, it eludes me.
They spend all that time writing books full of rules
only to send them out there for people to add, sub¬
tract, and enhance. They’re not just okay with it, they
encourage it! I’ll drop into a full-blown tizzy if some¬
one so much as adds salt to a casserole I labored over.
Salt?! The damn thing is perfect! I guess that’s another
reason I’m not a game designer.

But I get the desire to make up rules or even new
games. Heck, we did this in college every Monday
while watching Melrose Place. Drink every time Billy
looks dumbfounded. Do a shot for every scene where
lake is wearing chaps but is nowhere near his motor¬
cycle. Shotgun a beer every time Kimberly’s maniacal
face is shot in extreme close-up. (By the way, the
ad agency where Amanda Woodward worked was
named D&D. Maybe Aaron Spelling was a closet
gamer.)

Since so many people will be returning home this
holiday season, many to game groups they haven’t
seen in a while, I’ve decided to celebrate by going
home as well—home brewed, that is. (And home for
real—don’t panic, Mom.)

The Wyld Stallyns play it pretty much by the book.
Maybe it’s because we’re sometimes playtesting and
that’s our job, or maybe it’s because New DM doesn’t
want us to have any fun. I was inclined to think it was
the latter until he gently reminded me of a house rule
I play every Tuesday—Mr. Oso de la Fez.

You might remember that Oso began his quest for
familiar fame as a wee mini in my dice bag. Today
he’s a real five familiar you can find in the Charac¬
ter Builder. Neat, huh? I wondered how many other
house rules became actual rules, so I put the question
to R&D.

“Dungeon Masters are instinctive game design¬
ers,” Andy answered. “They’re always looking to
tweak the system to better fit their group’s needs.”

Andy went on to say that he didn’t know for sure,
but he’s willing to wager that a significant percentage
of “real” D&D rules started off as house rules.

“I’d bet the first person to decide that characters
needed the negative-hit-point buffer was a Dungeon
Master tired of TPKs.”

A Dungeon Master sick of TPKs? Right! Like that
ever happens.

One might think that if it’s your job to design and
develop the rules for D&D, playing with house rules
would be less like playing and more like playtesting.
Kind of how they say if you work at an ice cream
parlor, you get sick of ice cream-which is complete
bunk because I worked at a pizza place in college and
ate pizza every day for 329 days.

Anyway, because of this, many of the developers
and designers in R&D don’t use house rules often.

“If a house rule worked really well, wouldn’t you
be tempted to add it to the game?” I asked.

“Strangely, the ability to write the actual rules
means that your ‘house rules’ become ‘official rules’
much more quickly,” Andy explained.

The same was true for Mike.

“It feels like cheating to bend the rules to fit my
game, and it’s important that I have a good sense of
how the game works as written.”

But that’s not to say the R&D folks don’t use any
house rules. And if you want to add some new rules
to your home game, why not playtest a few of R&D’s?
Who knows? They might end up in a book someday,
and you can say you saw them here first.

Oh Come All Ye XP

The more I talked to Greg about his home game, the
more I believed he missed his calling. I’m sure he’s
perfectly happy editing and writing, and darn good at
it too, but I could see him thriving as a kindergarten
teacher. In fact, I’m so convinced of this, I’m having a
hard time not calling him Mr. Bilsland. He’s all about
helping his players get to the next level. Like every
session. Regardless of combat encounters or skill chal¬
lenges. New DM really makes us work for that XP,
and Mr. Bilsland just dishes them out willy nilly. How
cool is that?

Retraining Around the
Christmas Tree

Apparently R&D wouldn’t have had an issue with
Bart changing classes in the middle of a campaign-
even though he was hired to play a cleric! Okay, okay,
only because it’s Christmas will I let that one go. For

October 2009 | DRAGON 380

CONFESSIONS OF A FULL-TIME WIZARD

If you were struggling with your character’s life
choices and Andy was your DM, fear not. He would
let you swap out elements of your character, such as
old feats with new ones or ranged attacks for melee
attacks between levels. Even sooner if you’re really
laboring. Instant build gratification!

“lust as long as they don’t do it in the middle of the
dungeon,” he said.

Mr. Bilsland is the same way. Of course. It’s all
about nurturing and growing and self-confidence
with this guy.

“Players can re-spec their characters as much as
they want,” he explained. “They don’t have to follow
the retraining rules. They can change any powers or
feats they want between sessions.”

They probably get a cookie and a nap too.

Magic of the Season

Have you ever gone shopping with a friend, and you
both spy the same Marc Jacobs quilted nylon bomber
jacket at the same time? On sale. And it’s the only one
left in the store, probably in existence. And lucky you,
it’s your size! But so is your friend.

No? Really? Allow me to enlighten you then. It will
go something like this: You sneak sideways looks at
one another and pick up your pace, each trying to get
to the rack first, but without making it obvious that
you’re in a race. You try to distract your friend by car¬
rying on an inane conversation about the merits of
owning a car with all-wheel drive versus simply going
with all-weather tires up front on your front-wheel
drive, and demand that she give you her opinion on
the matter. What do you think the best option is? Tell me!
But it’s no use. You both want that coat and only one

of you will emerge victorious. This, my friends, is why
I view shopping as a solo sport (and why I have so
many winter coats).

Even if you haven’t found yourself in a similar
showdown at a department store, you may have
in a dungeon when your DM announces the party
unearthed a 9th-level magic item. Oh boy! But who

In our game, we use an equation handed down to
New DM from many games ago. Every party member
adds up the levels for every magic item and weapon
they own. He or she with the lowest total number gets
the new toy.

Simple math and voila! Time to go shopping.
Alone.

If Mike were our DM, then some of those magic
items we unearthed might be custom magic items,
like a crown, a sword, a book, or even a suit of elven
chainmail—all of which will play an important role in
our campaign.

“It lets me give out goodies that the players can’t
find in any book.”

And by “customizing” he means customizing. Like
he’s not just handing you a sword, he’s giving you
a rich physical description, backstory, history, and
properties. You’re not just scoring a one-of-a-kind
designer gown at a sample sale, you’re getting one
custom designed just for you by Valentino.

Deck the Halls (and by
“Halls” I Mean “Bad Guys”)

For some, it’s just not enough to know that you hit the
monster. You have to know where you hit the monster.
If that’s you, you’re not alone. Co-worker Kay has dis¬
closed one of my favorite house rules.

In her game, when someone hits their target,
they will roll a dl2 to see where they hit. This mat¬
ters because certain locations do more damage. The
breakout is as follows:

1. Forehead (normal damage)

2. Back of the head (normal damage)

3. Neck (double damage)

4. Left shoulder (normal damage)

5. Right shoulder (normal damage)

6. Heart (double damage)

7. Gut (double damage)

8. Groin (triple damage)

9. Upper leg left (normal damage)

10. Upper leg right (normal damage)

11. Lower leg left (normal damage)

12. Lower leg right (normal damage)

Even if no one will use this in my game, I’m going
to secretly play it at the table. And in my car when
someone cuts me off. And in the movie theater
when there’s a loud talker. And, well, pretty much
anywhere I’m pissed off and within reach of a dl2.
Thanks, Kay!

October 2009 | DRAGON 380

CONFESSIONS OF A FULL-TIME WIZARD

Custom Spec

This weapon was created by Mike for a character in his campaign played by James Wyatt.

The Iron Sword of Elemental Powei

This strange weapon is crafted from a single piece of iron ore. From what you can tell, it was carved into shape rather than crafted at
a forge. You know afew bits of information about the weapon, based onyour (andyour companions’) knowledge of history.

The sword is a weapon of elemental power. Weapons like this one are key parts of ceremonies and rituals
used by the priests of elemental evil. The mightiest champions of elemental evil receive these weapons as marks
of skill and favor.

Your sword was a normal weapon until you drove it into an altar dedicated to elemental evil found in the
crypts beneath the moathouse. The altar was infused with earth, air, fire, and water in equal measure. Those
energies flowed from the altar and into your weapon, imbuing it with a number of magical properties.

History

• This weapon was once wielded by a hero named Kelren.

• Kelren fought the denizens of a temple dedicated to elemental evil that arose in the southwestern
regions of the Flanaess.

• Kelren stole the sword from the cult and turned it against them.

• The sword was a key component in destroying nodes of elemental power.

• Crippling each of these places in turn allowed Kelren to smash the cult.

Properties

• +2 enhancement bonus

• Weapon of Arcane Power (Property): You may apply the sword’s enhancement bonus to implement
powers.

• Weapon of Elemental Might (Daily): Minor action. Until the end of the encounter, you may apply one of
the following effects at the start of each of your turns.

• Fiery Rebuke: Each foe adjacent to you takes 2 fire damage.

• Buffeting Winds: Slide each creature adjacent to you 1 square.

• Watery Step: You may shift 2 squares.

• Earthen Grasp: Until the end of your turn, each foe you hit with the sword is slowed until the end of your
next turn.

Music of the Season

Clearly music plays a big part in D&D games, and my
co-workers are no exception.

lefferson’s game rivals that of a Quentin Tarantino
movie in the soundtrack department. For instance,
his Eberron game has a “pulp-sounding” soundtrack
(Raiders of the Lost Ark, Pirates of the Caribbean,

Sky Captain, and so on). Once the party wound up
in a huge pirate bar. Then he played lames Brown.
Obviously.

Mr. Bilsland struck again with this doozy. Every¬
one in his game has a character song, which is
included on his 4-hour “combat playlist.” Whenever
combat breaks out, the music plays. If a character’s
song comes up, he or she gets an additional action
point to be spent during their next turn. What would
Tabby’s be? Burning Down the House ? Light My Fire ? Hot
Hot Hot?

Silver and Gold

Remember how in school the really good teachers
made sure that everyone in class got a Valentine’s Day
card? Well, Mr. Bilsland makes sure that everyone’s
character goes home with something useful that they
can use next session. He doles out treasure each ses¬
sion “with reckless abandon.” I bet he also gives out
full-size candy bars on Halloween. Have Yourself a
Merry Little Christmas (and a Shot of Tequila)

Guess who gives out fun points? That’s right—

Mr. Bilsland! He has a “fun list” comprised of 100
bonuses your characters can get. When you accumu¬
late 10 points, you can turn it in for a roll on the list.
And how do you accumulate points, you ask? He’s got
a system for that too.

October 2009 | DRAGON 380

CONFESSIONS OF A FULL-TIME WIZARD

• Write up a character background: 10 points

• Arrive on time to a D&D session and come pre¬
pared with character sheet, pencils, paper, books
dice, power cards, and everything else you need: 1

• Note-taking (anyone who takes thorough notes): 3
points

• Bring snack food or drinks: 2 points

• Bringing props for your character-clothing
items, weapons, trinkets, and so on: 1 point/session

• Cover your mouth when coughing: 2 points

• Look both ways when crossing the street: 3 points

• Saying “please” and “thank you”: 12 points.

my bungalow on Baltic Avenue, he has to do a shot of
Sambuca and dance like lames Brown. And I know
he’ll do it too. The bitchin’ staff Mike Mearls has
designed for me will see to that.

About the Author

Shelly Mazzanoble is visiting her family right now and probably
crying because her brother broke her custom designed staff.

Maybe I added the last three, but you get the point.

Mr. Biisland also lets you give out up to 2 fun
points per game to other players to reward them for
things like good roleplaying, creativity, and over all
just being fun. Aw, Mr. Bilsland! Here’s 100 points for
you!

And here is something that is not so much
a rule but an unwritten curse according tolefferson:
“He who sitteth at the right hand of the DM, thou
shalt roll badly.”

For the record, I always sit on the left, use my pink
d20, say please and thank you, and continue to roll
poorly. Maybe I do need a shot of tequila and some
lames Brown.

Wherever the holidays take you this season,
maybe you’ll find time for a little D&D, and maybe
you’ll be inspired to incorporate some new rules
into your game. Personally I’m looking forward to
a rousing game of Monopoly with my brother when
I go home and adding a few of my own house rules.
For example, whenever my brother evicts me from

October 2009 | DRAGON 380

- - »

RPGA REPORT

Winter Wonders, Upcoming

BY CHRIS TULACH

illustrations by Eric L. Williams

While the weather outside might be cold, nasty,
or just plain dismal, here in Organized Play, we’re
huddled around our heaters and computer screens,
planning, plotting, and scheming up our 2010 offer¬
ings. Here’s some of the latest developments and

Weekend in the Realms
Recap

This past November 6-8, Living Forgotten Realms
gamers participated worldwide in Weekend in the
Realms, a celebration of the largest D&D shared-
world campaign (now about 16 months old) and an
opportunity to play an exclusive adventure! “The Icy
Queen’s Crossing” was the first LFR adventure to
offer a tie-in with a Forgotten Realms novel-specifi-
cally, The Fall ofHighwatch. Characters journeyed
to the cold lands of Narfell, encountered the tribal
Creel, and dealt with demons in the aftermath of the
events detailed in the novel. Look for more tie-ins
with novels and other products in the future, as LFR
continues to take you on a journey throughout the
Realms. Keep an eye on the Living Forgotten Realms
Community page for future information.

;r 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

Get Social! Official D&D
Twitter Channel & More

Social networking tools are growing at a phenomenal
pace, and we’re trying to keep up with the latest and
greatest here at Wizards. In fact, we’ve just launched
an official Twitter channel , or if you’re already on
Twitter, simply hit up @Wizards DnD to follow hot
news and spur-of-the-moment discussions. You can
bet that Organized Play updates will occasionally
flow through there as well.

Can’t keep up with what’s where? Here’s a list of
where you can find D&D Organized Play information
on various social networking platforms:

Twitter: A place for quick, real-time news and
discussion parsed out in 140-character “tweets,” our
official Twitter channel will give you hot updates,
news and musings about the D&D game, upcoming
products, events, and interesting “slices of life” of the
folks working on the game. Head to the page to see
recent tweets or follow through your own Twitter
account by checking out @Wizards DnD.

Facebook: Friend us today and keep up with
D&D news and talk through our official Facebook
page . With over 20,000 fans at last count, our Face-
book page is a great place to get updates on our
upcoming products and events and to interact with
other Facebook friends who play D&D. You might
even find an exclusive spoiler or two from time to
time!

Wizards Community: Our official network of
groups, forums, blogs, and more that give you the
depth of information you want when you want it. Visit
our official groups for detailed information about our
Organized Play programs, including Living Forgotten

RPGA REPORT

Realms and Worldwide D&D Game Days . You can
also search for stores and play locations near you ,

and even find people, including Wizards staff . If you
really want to find the answers to tough questions,
you can hit up the forums . The community is there to
help!

TFR Adventures Premiere
in Public

Starting in January, new Living Forgotten Realms
adventures will be available first to those running
public games scheduled through the Wizards Play
Network. It’s our hope that local organizers will find
this of great benefit, as game stores and conven¬
tions will now be able to premiere almost all LFR
adventures approximately 3 months before these
adventures become available for home play. So, head
to your local game shop or convention to try out the
hottest new offerings for Living Forgotten Realms!

D&D Experience.- January
28-31

Just around the corner is our feature D&D conven¬
tion for the year-D&D Experience! Taking place in
Fort Wayne, Indiana January 28 -31, D&D Experi¬
ence will be your place to get the inside track on
what’s going on with the game for 2010. We’ll have
a detailed breakdown of (most) everything to expect
at the show in the January column, but you can see
a full schedule over at the D&D Experience website
and register for games. Run by our go-to big show
organizer David Christ, here’s just a short fist of some
of the exciting activities we have in store this year:

Dark Sun Sneak Peek. You want to know about
the world of Athas in 4th Edition? There’s no better
place to be than D&D Experience! We’ll have a spe¬
cial preview adventure using monsters and characters
from the upcoming Dark Sun products so you can
have a hands-on experience with the new rules. In
addition, we’ll be offering a seminar discussing Dark
Sun hosted by lead designer Rich Baker.

Player’s Handbook 3 Preview. If you check out
the Dark Sun adventure at the show, you might see
some flashes of more Player’s Handbook 3 content that
has yet to be spoiled anywhere else. In addition, we’ll
have a 2010 Product Preview seminar where we’ll
discuss Player’s Handbook 3 and give more details on
what you can find within its pages.

Other Upcoming Surprises. More than just
our big early releases during the year, we’re going to
save a few surprises for show time. You can expect to
have close encounters with products releasing in the
first half of 2010 during the show in various places. If
you’re going to the show, keep your eyes peeled!

Seminars Galore. We’re expanding our seminar
content this year with at least a half a dozen seminars
and workshops taking place, including the return of
the ever-popular Annual Product Preview (get ready
to tweet and blog) and the DM-troubleshooting work¬
shop Save My Game! In addition, seminars on D&D
Organized Play (another good one for spoilers), Dark
Sun, Adventure Design, and D&D in the Digital
Realm will be offered during the show. A complete
seminar schedule with descriptions will be available
soon on the D&D Experience website , but as a heads
up, all seminars will take place during the afternoon
gaming slot (starting at 1 p.m.) each day.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Access to Wizards Staff. D&D Experience is
one of the best places to meet and greet the staff that
work on the D&D game. This year we have a number
of guests who will be running games, hosting semi¬
nars, and signing autographs throughout the entire
weekend. Staff confirmed as of early December
include Mike Mearls and Rich Baker, two prominent
D&D RPG designers, as well as Bart Carroll from
the D&D Insider team, Chris Champagne from our
digital department, Trevor Kidd from the community
team, and Chris Tulach from D&D Organized Play.
Get your book signed, play a game with us, listen to us
exchange witty banter at seminars, or just bend our
ear to let us know what you think about the game.

Living Forgotten Realms and More. Lest we
forget, D&D Experience is also about playing the
hottest new adventures in Organized Play, includ¬
ing a bunch of great new Living Forgotten Realms
adventures. This year, all of the LFR core adventures
and specials tie together to create an incredible story
arc set in Elturel and present the first-ever battle
interactive for the campaign! If you’re an LFR player,
you won’t want to miss this. If you’re new to LFR,
D&D Experience is a great place to start playing with
some great exclusives.

Vendors for Your Gaming Needs. Once again,
D&D Experience will have a number of vendors
available where you can pick up the latest RPG
releases, grab some dice, or get the tool you need to
play or DM your game. Don’t fret if you forget a rule-
book or your dice bag; we’ll have you covered at the
show.

Cool Takeaways. If you preregister for the show,
you’ll receive a cool D&D backpack (while supplies
last), and there will be some great new D&D Rewards

cards in addition to other goodies. If you want to com¬
memorate your time spent in beautiful Fort Wayne,
we’ll even have a great-looking “rock concert” style
D&D t-shirt for sale at the show!

That’s all for this month. Have a warm and festive
holiday season, and we’ll see you in 2010!

New Living Forgotten
Realms Adventures
Releasing This Month

Check out the latest adventure offerings for December!

December 2, 2009

IMPIl-7 Masquerade

A scheming noble’s plan may have placed his only
daughter in danger, forcing the desperate man to
plead for help from outsiders. But political intrigue is
not the only game in Impiltur — nor the most danger¬
ous. A Living Forgotten Realms adventure set in
Impiltur for characters levels 4-7.

TYMA1-7 Stolen Cargo

There are many dangers on the open sea - and
beneath the waves. Adventurers are able to defend
themselves, but the rest of your ship’s crew is not so
fortunate. Now it falls to you to rescue them from the
drowned city of Messemprar. A Living Forgotten
Realms adventure set in Tymanther for characters
levels 7-10.

December 9, 2009

COREl-17 Stumbling Toward Harmony

RPGA REPORT

A prophet and his followers are leaving Thesk and
looking to start a new life. Heroes are needed to pro¬
tect them on their travels and aid them in finding a
new home. A Living Forgotten Realms adventure
set in the Hordelands for characters levels 4-7.

LURU1-7 Demonic Dealings

Deep in the Glimmerwood, the Uthgardt Barbarians
keep the ores of Luruar in check. A new ally to the
ores changes the balance of power. House Itharwen,
unfortunate victims of the new alliance, are seeking
heroes to recover their losses in this battle. A Living
Forgotten Realms adventure set in Luruar for char¬
acters levels 7-10.

MOON1-7 Treasure Hunt

An old bard’s tale, a sunken ship, and a foreign cap¬
tain: Secrets lost for decades may come to light if you
embark on this treasure hunt. You may find riches or
be the main course on some beast’s table. A Living
Forgotten Realms adventure set in The Moonshae
Isles for characters levels 7-10.

December 16, 2009

AKANl-7 Faint Hope

When antipathy prevents an old man from getting
an escort to the south, you are his last resort. Can
you help him reach the jungles and a possible cure
for his ailing adopted daughter? A Living Forgotten
Realms adventure set in Akanul for characters levels
1-4.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

RPGA REPORT

EAST1-7 Right of Passage

The dwarves of Eartheart have delved into the wrong
cavern and offended a colony of myconids. Apologies
must be made or the price for the dwarves could be
steep. A Living Forgotten Realms adventure set in
the East Rift for characters levels 4-7.

M1N11-5 Pyrophobia

Lone survivors. Run. Flames. Madness. Run. Trails
of Smoke. Watching eyes. RUN! You have thwarted
the fire cult’s summoning, but at what price? Can you
escape the fire cult’s advances and reveal their true
leader? A double-length Living Forgotten Realms
adventure that is part of the Embers of Dawn mini¬
campaign set in Tarmalune for characters levels 1-4.

December 23, 2009

AGLAl-7 Twilight Ambitions
Aldaron the Loremaster has continued to delve into
the mysteries of the ancient Tome of Twilight Boughs.
But some of the book’s mysteries seem far from
ancient, and Aldaron needs the help of adventur¬
ers to figure out why. A Living Forgotten Realms
adventure set in Aglarond for characters levels 7-10.
This adventure concludes the Major Quest involv¬
ing the Tome of Twilight Boughs (which begins in
AGLA1-1 Lost Temple of the Fey Gods and continues
in AGLA1-4 Through Twilight Boughs).

MYRE1-4 My Realms Adventure PI
2009

A My Realms adventure is the DM’s chance to shape
the fate of a group of characters. Are you up to the
challenge? A Living Forgotten Realms adventure
set in the DM’s imagination for characters levels
11-14.

December 30, 2009

No adventures this week. Happy Holidays and have a
great New Year!

About the Author

Originally thought to have heen raised from a humhle Mid¬
western family, Chris Tulach actually fell to Earth in a
meteorite-shaped capsule flung from a planet far outside our
galaxy. While under the yellow rays of Sol, Chris’s nerdity
far surpasses that of any normal human. Using this precious
gift only for good, he has become the D&D Organized Play
Content Developer, responsible for the development and
deployment of Dungeons & Dragons organized play programs.
He is also the co-author of E2 Kingdom of the Ghouls.

mber 2009 | DRAGON 382

Decer

This is the time of year for retrospectives,
so I’ve decided to devote this column to
reviewing some of the highlights of the past
year. Along the way, I may give a hint or
two about the year ahead, and I’ll show off
a couple of items from upcoming products,
including Hammerfast: A Dwarven Outpost
Adventure Site and The Plane Above: Secrets
of the Astral Sea game supplement.

AMPERSAND

Looking Back

BY BILL SLAVICSEK

This is the Year that
Was ...

Looking back, I’m proud of what we accomplished
over the course of 2009 for the Dungeons & Drag¬
ons brand. Great events took place, such as D&D
Experience, Gen Con, and a number of amazing
D&D Game Days that occurred simultaneously
around the world. Great products for the roleplaying
game rolled out, including Player’s Handbook 2, Mon¬
ster Manual 2 , and Dungeon Master’s Guide 2 , as well as
Revenge of the Giants, Dungeon Delve, Primal Power, and
the Eberron Campaign Guide.

In the novels, we ended R.A. Salvatore’s latest
trilogy with a bang in The Ghost King, scared some of
our younger readers with A Practical Guide to Vam¬
pires, and otherwise added to the lore of the Forgotten
Realms, Dragonlance, and Eberron with a great collec¬
tion of new tales of action and adventure.

In the miniatures arena, we unleashed some of the
best models we’ve done in a new packaging concept
that started with Monster Manual: Dangerous Delves
and culminated with Monster Manual: Savage Encoun¬
ters, with the Huge set Monster Manual: Legendary Evils
sandwiched between them.

On the digital front, Dragon Magazine and Dungeon
Magazine have been going strong, turning out excit¬

ing and useful content each and every month all year
long. This was also the year in which the D&D Char¬
acter Builder expanded, the D&D Monster Builder
was introduced, we launched a new version of our
website, and we introduced a new community section
complete with personal pages, blogs, and more.

It was a great year, and 2010 promises to be even
better. We’ve got Player’s Handbook 3 and Dark Sun
on the horizon, among other titles. We’ve got some
surprises in the area of miniatures that I hope to
talk about next month. We’ll continue to expand
and improve our digital offerings. And we’ve got a
bunch of new stuff happening in novels that I’D try
to provide information on in the next month or so,
including a new series of Dungeons & Dragons
novels set in the world established in the core role-
playing game.

Twitter

Soon (quite, quite soon), we’ll be launching our offi¬
cial D&D Twitter channel: wizards dnd. Be sure to
follow us in order to find out—via the fastest means
possible these days—the latest goings on from around
the halls of Wizards of the Coast. We plan on using
this channel to tip folks off to announcements, Orga¬
nized Play event information, occasional in-game

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

happenings, and periodic snippets of everyday activi¬
ties happening here concerning those working on the
Dungeons & Dragons brand and suite of products.

HAMMERFAST: A
DWARVEN OUTPOST
ADVENTURE SITE
SNEAK PEEK!

Here’s the opening spread from this upcoming
product, that features a poster map and background
information for dropping this dwarven town into any
D&D campaign.

“Assault on persons living or dead without provocation is
grounds for prosecution.”

—Warning posted at the Trade Gate, Hammerfast

History walks the streets of Hammerfast in the form
of the dead, the dwarves and ores who died in this
place more than a century ago. They are now ghosts
consigned to wander Hammerfast’s streets until the
end of days. Hammerfast was once a necropolis, a col¬
lection of tombs where the dwarf lords interred their
people. As the dwarves’ wealth grew, their burial
chambers changed from simple stone sepulchers to
lavish treasure vaults filled with the material wealth
garnered over a lifetime.

Hammerfast transformed from a graveyard into
a storehouse for treasure, and thus it became a
target. A hundred years ago, the Bloodspear ore tribe
conquered the necropolis but gained little from it.

The ores killed the priests and warriors tasked with

AMPERSAND

guarding Hammerfast and started to loot the place,
but the dwarves’ burial chambers yielded their trea¬
sures only grudgingly. The necropolis held street after
street of unmarked tombs, some riddled with traps,
many empty, and only a few containing great trea¬
sure. The ores suffered great losses to the defenses
of Hammerfast and, after butchering its guards and
capturing a few of its treasures, they turned their
attention to easier targets in other locations.

In time, the dwarves returned to Hammerfast.

Due to the fall of the Nerath Empire, the citadels of
the dwarves were broken, famine and plague grew
thick across the land, and monsters and raiders
prowled freely. In the face of such chaos, the dwarves
made a fateful decision. Why waste fortifications on
the dead? They had no use for it. Thus, Hammerfast
was transformed into a town of the living. It has since
grown into the largest and richest settlement in the
eastern portion of the Nentir Vale.

Yet although Hammerfast has changed, its past
lingers on. The remaining sealed tombs stand
untouched on pain of death by decree of the Town
Council. Ghosts still walk the streets, some of them
ore warriors slain in the Bloodspears’ attack, others
priests ofMoradin or the necropolis’s doomed guard¬
ians, and even a few of them dwarves laid to rest
here long ago. Such creatures enjoy full citizenship
in Hammerfast, so long as they observe its laws. In a
sacred compact struck with Moradin and Gruumsh,
the town’s founders agreed to respect the dead and
defend their resting places in return for the right to
settle here.

Welcome to Hammerfast!

Three Unique Traits

There are three points that make Hammerfast
unique.

♦ Hammerfast is a town where the living dwell
among the dead. The buildings are tombs and sep¬
ulchers, cleared of rubble and refurbished to serve
as homes and businesses.

♦ Some of the tombs remain sealed. Their treasures
are a powerful lure for adventurers, but raiding
such a tomb is punishable by death. In some of the
inhabited tombs, secret doors to forgotten passages
and chambers await discovery.

♦ The dwarves must endure the presence of ores. As
part of the divine compact that created the town,
Gruumsh demanded that his dead be honored,
too, by a temple devoted to his power.

Using This Book

Hammerfast can be the glue that holds your cam¬
paign together, a town that you can use as a base of
operations between heroic tier expeditions or as a
ready source of urban adventures. Hammerfast pro¬
vides a framework designed to accommodate a broad
range of adventures and serves as a jumping off point
for your imagination. It also includes resources you
can use to fill in details as you need them during a
game session.

A Safety Net: Most of this book focuses on giving
you a range of options rather than in-depth details.
When you run adventures in Hammerfast, use this
book to fill in the blanks that come up in play, allow¬
ing you to focus on plot and story. Lay out the map of
Hammerfast when the adventurers enter town, and
allow them to explore the place as they like between

AMPERSAND

excursions. If you have designed a dungeon or oth¬
erwise have an adventure location they need to visit,
place it on the outdoor map in whatever place fits
best.

A Campaign Arc: The stories this book sets in
place can serve as the framework of a campaign that
takes the adventurers from 1st to 10th level. The
three villain groups presented at the end of this book
provide plenty of opportunities for adventure, such as
thwarting the renegade priests of the Circle of Stone
or slaying the legendary dragon Calastryx.

An Idea Mine: Many of the descriptions of the
nonplayer characters (NPCs) in this book include
backgrounds and motivations that make them good
sources of adventures. Use these NPCs to build your
campaign or to tempt the adventurers into action.

Hammereast’s Legacy

The compact forged between the folk of Hammerfast,
Moradin, and Gruumsh created the foundation upon
which the town rests. It shapes everyday life and
influences the town’s development. Of course, as with
anything involving dwarves and ores, it also creates a
source of constant tension.

The Compact

When the dwarves first resolved to settle in Ham¬
merfast, the priests of Moradin beseeched their god
for guidance. The necropolis was once sacred ground,
before the invading ores defiled it.

A champion of Gruumsh named Tarrak led the
assault on Hammerfast. He swore to Gruumsh to
destroy the place and loot its treasures. Tarrak died in
the assault, along with many other fanatical worship¬

pers of Gruumsh. In Gruumsh’s single, baleful eye,
Hammerfast became a monument to his worshippers’
ferocity.

With two competing deities laying claim to Ham¬
merfast, only a compromise could avert a second
war. Moradin and Gruumsh argued and threatened
each other through intermediaries, until at last they
reached an accord. Gruumsh had no use for the town,
but he saw the chance to create a stark reminder
of his champion’s victory. He demanded that the
dwarves set aside part of the town for his priests.

Moradin agreed, but as a condition of his assent
insisted on a strict set of rules that both parties must
follow. Gruumsh gained his show of defiance, and
Moradin ensured that his followers would be safe
from Gruumsh’s treachery. The rules set forth were
simple but inflexible:

♦ Worshippers of Gruumsh are not to be attacked
or detained within the town as long as they do
not commit acts of violence against Hammerfast’s
residents.

♦ Any priest of Gruumsh in the town must aid in its
defense should it come under attack.

The ghosts that dwell in Hammerfast are to be left
alone, as long as they do not attack the living.

4 The temples of Moradin and Gruumsh are sacred
ground. If either is attacked by the other, the gods
will intervene.

The punishment for violating the compact varies.
If a priest of Gruumsh is injured or detained, the
dwarves must turn over a priest of Moradin for tor¬
ture and execution at Gruumsh’s temple. Any priest
of Gruumsh that violates the compact is struck blind
and exiled to certain death in the wilderness. The
town guard enforces the law regarding the ghosts:

Any attack on the undead is treated like an assault on
a living citizen.

The final rule spurs much speculation. The exact
nature of the divine intervention was never set forth,
but most residents believe that the gods would send a
cataclysm to destroy the town if this rule is broken.

Houses oe the Dead

Although some of the tombs in Hammerfast were
reduced to rubble by the attacking ores, most were
simply picked clean of their contents. The ores
smashed open coffins, pounded sarcophagi into
rubble, and scattered remains across the necropolis.

The dwarves rebuilt Hammerfast, keeping as
much of the necropolis intact as possible. Most homes
and businesses use the same thick-walled stone struc¬
tures that once housed the dead. The interiors have
been cleaned and reorganized. In some buildings, the
original sarcophagi, murals, and other decorations
remain.

In the summertime, some of the structures
become unbearably hot. For this reason, structures in
Hammerfast were built downward, not upward. Most
families use the first floor of their homes as work¬
shops or for storage, with the basement level set aside
for sleeping. Most structures in Hammerfast house
several families, each living within a subset of the
chambers found in a typical tomb.

The tombs that remain intact are off limits. The
town guard patrols the necropolis, and anyone caught
looting existing tombs faces a death sentence. That
doesn’t stop some thieves, and rumors abound of
tombs that were looted by thieves despite the vigi¬
lance of the town guard.

Many folk suspect that even the tombs now used
as homes and businesses still hide ancient trea¬
sure chambers, hidden passages, and other secrets.
Although looting intact tombs is against the law,
tombs that have already been opened are fair game.
Thus, adventure might be as close as the secret door
beneath one’s bed.

Ghosts of the Past

The ghosts of Hammerfast serve as a sobering
reminder of its past. Although the ghosts are by no
means numerous enough to crowd the streets, a resi¬
dent of Hammerfast is likely to see a ghost at least
once during the course of a week.

Most of the ghosts keep to themselves, avoiding
contact with other creatures and content to simply
reenact the last few moments before they died or
the daily routines they followed in life. Other ghosts
linger on for specific reasons. Telg and Kralick in
Location 22 are examples of the latter type of ghost.

Ghosts sometimes have a task or another respon¬
sibility that they seek to complete. An ore might
batter at the door of a sealed tomb, howling as the
door remains standing. A dwarf might stand atop the
walls, determined to maintain her position in the face
of an endless wave of attackers.

For more on Hammerfast, watch for the prod¬
uct release in April!

AMPERSAND

THE PLANE ABOVE:
SECRETS OF THE
ASTRAL SEA SNEAK
PEEK!

Many of the dominions in the Astral Sea are sur¬
rounded by border areas, often made up of islands.

In the dominion of Celestia, shared by the deities
Bahamut, Kord, and Moradin, this surroundng
island chain is known as the Foothills. The area has
a number of unique types of fantastic terrain, which
are described below.

Terrain effects in the Foothills derive from either
their forbidding environment or the influence of
Celestia’s deities. Those resulting from the gods’
influence are often field effects. Fields potentially
affect all or most of an encounter area. They remain
dormant until certain actions are undertaken during
an encounter. These actions establish small zones that
remain active until the end of the encounter.

Armorfields

Where Moradin’s exalted tread, armorfields spring
up.

Effect: When a creature in an armorfield area
takes cold, fire, force, lightning, necrotic, poison, radi¬
ant, or thunder damage, the space that the creature
currently occupies becomes a zone until the end of
the encounter. While a creature is within the zone, it
gains resist 5 damage to that type of damage per tier.
If the damage that created the zone has more than
one type, the creature that triggered the creation of

the zone selects one of those damage types as the
resistance the zone confers.

Usage: Enemies that recognize the presence of an
armorfield will use it to their advantage by moving
into the zone’s space. Because of the resistance, they
will use attacks of the same type of damage against
enemy and ally alike, trusting the resistance to pro¬
tect their friends.

Drainer Lichen

The Foothills’ rockier slopes are mottled by drainer
lichen.

Effect: When a creature leaves a square of drainer
lichen, it takes ongoing 5 radiant damage per tier
until it reenters the drainer lichen square. Each
square of drainer lichen can confer this ongoing
damage only once each encounter.

Usage: Move enemies to a square of drainer lichen
that a character leaves, forcing that character to take
ongoing damage until the enemy can be moved off
the square. Use soldiers with a high AC to make this
tactic very effective.

Gramble

The Foothills’ rugged heaths are covered in patches
of gramble, a dense, thorny bush with carnivorous
instincts.

Effect: Gramble is often difficult terrain, and can
also be blocking terrain, as some bushes are tall and
thick enough to block line of sight. When a creature
ends its turn in or adjacent to a square of gramble, it
is restrained until the start of its next turn. When a
creature starts its turn in or adjacent to a square of
gramble, it takes 5 damage per tier.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

AMPERSAND

Usage: Combine patches ofgramble with ranged
attackers to create an area of difficult or blocking ter¬
rain that the characters have to move through or in
between to reach their enemies.

Mercyfields

Locations visited by Bahamut’s exalted dragons
develop into mercyfields.

Effect: If a creature in a mercyfield area is blood¬
ied, the space that the creature currently occupies
becomes a zone until the end of the encounter. When
a creature starts its turn within the zone, it gains tem¬
porary hit points equal to one-half its healing surge
value.

Usage: Put enemy brutes or soldiers in a mercy-
field zone to make those creatures more difficult to
defeat, especially if the space creates a choke point
that the characters need to pass to get to a leader.

Valoreields

When Kord’s exalted gather to fight, they leave valor-
fields in their wake.

Effect: If a creature in a valorfield area is blood¬
ied, the space that the creature currently occupies
becomes a zone until the end of the encounter.

While a creature is within the zone, it grants combat
advantage.

Usage: Have skirmishers and other mobile
enemies try to maneuver characters into valorfields.
Soldiers with the ability to mark and lock down ene¬
mies can maneuver a character onto a valorfield zone
to make that character an easier target for its allies.

Check out The Plane Above: Secrets of the Astral Sea
when it release in April.

Happy holidays everyone!

^/\

In Case You Don’t Know Him

Bill Slavicsek’s gaming life was forever changed when he
discovered Dungeons & Dragons in 1976. He became a
gaming professional in 1986 when he was hired by West End
Games as an editor. He quickly added developer, designer,
and creative manager to his resume, and his work helped
shape the Paranoia, Ghostbusters, Star Wars, and Torg roleplay¬
ing games. He even found some time during that period to do
freelance work for D&D 1st Edition. In 1993, Bill joined the
staff of TSR, Inc. as a designer/editor. He worked on a bunch
of 2nd Edition material, including products for Core D&D,
Dark Sun, Ravenloft, and Planescape. In 1997, he was part of

the TSR crowd that moved to Seattle to join Wizards of the
Coast, and in that year he was promoted to R&D Director for
D&D. In that position, Bill oversaw the creation of both the
3rd Edition and 4th Edition of the D&D Roleplaying Game.
He was one of the driving forces behind the D&D Insider
project, and he continues to oversee and lead the creative
strategy and effort for Dungeons & Dragons.

Bill’s enormous list of credits includes Alternity, d20
Modern, d20 Star Wars, Pokemonjr., Eberron Campaign Setting,
the D&D For Dummies books, and his monthly Ampersand (&)
column for Dragon Magazine.

December 2009 | DRAGON 382

Internet Archive Audio

Featured

Top

Images

Featured

Top

Software

Featured

Top

Books

Featured

Top

Video

Featured

Top

Mobile Apps

Browser Extensions

Archive-It Subscription

Save Page Now

Full text of "Dragon Magazine"

See other formats